Horse Sense
by United Profilers
Summary: Takes place right before season 5. The BAU is called in to assist the local police on a case in Washington State, but it's proving difficult for both parties. As the case might go cold, Reid meets a very peculiar friend who just might be able to help.
1. The BAU Cometh

**I do not own Criminal Minds.**

**Update 3/15/12: I made some improvements on the first chapter, I also fixed a few embarrassing mistakes I failed to notice before on other parts of the story.**

**Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault/rape, death, animal abuse/neglect, and some language and violence.**

**Note: Normally, I'm not one to do OC stories, but I've been playing with this idea for some time. I just had to get it out, and I hope it turns out okay... (Sweats nervously)**

**This is also my first semi casefic. (Twiddles fingers)**

A cell phone started to ring, causing a bundle of brown curls to slowly rise from the warm covers on a bed. Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid moaned groggily as he reached for his phone, glanced at the caller ID then flipped it open.

"Hi Hotch. We have a case?"

"Yes, we do. We're going to brief at the BAU first before heading out."

"Okay, see you there." He shut his phone and sat it back on his nightstand. He slid out of bed, debating on a quick shower or not. He decided not to and began to change out of his pajamas and get dressed. He put his skinny arms through the sleeves of a shirt before buttoning it, he then pulled on a pair of dark slacks before tying on a tie and pulling a sweater vest over his head and on top of his shirt. He grabbed his messenger bag, cell phone and credentials locking his apartment and heading out. He decided to walk instead of taking the subway, that way he could stop by his personally favorite coffee place on his way to work.

Besides, walking is good for you.

After making a stop and ordering coffee for the entire team, he resumed his journey, holding onto the tray of hot morning beverages. Once he reached the FBI Headquarters and entered, he climbed the stairs up to the sixth floor, Morgan's and Prentiss's desks were vacant, also, JJ's, Rossi's, and Hotch's offices were all dark. He took that as a sign that the team, minus Garcia, were all in the room already, waiting for the arrival of their youngest.

He made sure to give Penelope her drink first before proceeding over to the conference room where everyone except for JJ was seated. He handed everyone their coffee, they thanked him and each gratefully took a sip of their caffeine in a cup. Spencer sat down and JJ began the briefing.

"Six women have gone missing in Centralia, Washington, two of them were found dead yesterday on the side of the road near a small farm. They haven't been identified yet." She pressed a button on the remote, the screen showed the gruesome photos that had been taken. "One of the bodies found had several stab wounds, and the other appeared to have been strangled."

"Aside from the same dump site, how exactly might these victims be related?" Morgan questioned.

"They both showed signs of sexual assault." The blonde said grimly.

"No DNA or trace evidence?" Emily pondered.

"None, no known witnesses either."

"No wonder we're being asked to help." Rossi spoke. "I hate to admit it, but this guy sounds pretty damn good, leaving not one single clue behind that could lead to him."

"That's not all, the first victim went missing fourteen years ago, she was never found." JJ added.

"Fourteen years?" Prentiss gaped. "She's probably nothing but bones now."

"Maybe the unsub kept her body and preserved it, like she meant something to him since she was his first victim." Reid suggested. "Which is why she was never found."

"How does that explain the others that are still missing?" Hotch raised an eyebrow. As the team continued, JJ pulled out her cell phone that had started ringing.

"It could just be some kind of trick he's pulling." Dave mused. "Like he's trying to confuse investigators and throw them off his trail."

"You would think that putting two bodies where they could be found so easily might have the opposite effect." Derek said.

"Whatever the reason, we can further discuss this on the plane." Hotch stated. JJ hung up her phone and exhaled. "Good, because another woman was just reported missing."

**(Spencer Reid!)**

The team sat scattered around the jet, they reviewed their case files enough times that they all took a little break. Hotch sat near the front, talking to his family on his phone, JJ, Emily, and Rossi were at the table, playing cards, they decided not to let Spencer play with them because he cheats. The dejected young man was on the couch reading a newspaper with Morgan by his side.

"I didn't know you read the papers, kid." He speculated.

"I don't usually." Reid admitted. "There was just an article on that looked interesting."

"Really? What's it about? Some study on long division?" Derek smirked.

Spencer glared at him for a moment. "No. It's about this horse that's said to be the most intelligent in the world. His name is Cavalry, he has an IQ of 161, he can respond and understand the human language, he can even communicate by writing."

"Is that for real?" Morgan asked. "Sounds like a bunch of bull to me."

"It is real," He explained. "The horse was born in a Las Vegas laboratory, he was part of in experiment to increase an animal's intelligence. Before he was born, they injected something in his sac that they called 'homemade artificial intelligence'. They expected him to be smarter than the average horse, but he surpassed that and eventually reached what is considered 'genius' level in humans."

"Damn." The dark skinned agent breathed. "I'll bet the animal is probably a movie star or something by now."

"Actually," Spencer pointed out. "Cavalry's whereabouts are currently unknown."

"Maybe it's better that it stays that way. Can you imagine having a pet horse that's smarter than you?"

"Well, technically, he wouldn't be, I have an IQ of 187, his IQ is 161."

"You know what I meant, smartass." Derek chuckled. The jet bumped a few times, causing the two young agents to instinctively grip the edge of the couch.

"We're landing soon." Hotch announced. Everyone got in a seat and buckled up.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

He watched as the man effortlessly dragged another one from his old fashioned pickup truck and to his rundown house. He wished there was something he could do for her, as well as all the others that eventually died. He'd try making noise to hopefully alert somebody but it only resulted in irritated neighbors and a beating. He didn't want to get beaten again, he had already endured one from the last time the man brought another one home.

The electric fencing prevented him from being able to take action of any kind. He once tried to kick down one of the fence posts, only to miss and hit one of the hot wires and bring himself more pain. He sadly watched as the all too familiar sight unfolded before him.

The female human struggled, begged and pleaded, but it only fueled the other human's happiness and satisfaction. The truck was about 20 feet from the house, 20 feet where she had a chance to get away but the man was so strong. Too strong, and the woman was so young. It only made things harder to bear.

Their screams would echo through his head at night, it made sleeping almost unpleasant. Every morning when the man would casually stroll out and around the farm, he would point his ears back and glare at him with pure hatred. How could a human be so cruel? And to their fellow species?

The man would at least give him regular feedings and make sure he had water to drink, but it didn't make things much better.

Of course, of all the animals from that laboratory, he had to be the one who's 'increased intelligence' had surpassed expectations. An IQ of 161 by human standards, but that meant unlike normal animals, he had to know what horrors went on in this world, like with his current owner and what he does to all those poor women.

He could see the TV through the window of the house and he could hear what was being said on it thanks to his excellent hearing. The man watched crime shows during his spare time. He had to make sure he did everything right and didn't get caught. He had to admit though, the man was doing a good job. Too good for his liking.

Some of the shows that came on involved the FBI. He always wondered what it would be like working alongside the humans there. He knew that could never happen. The FBI didn't use horses, probably not even ones with intelligence considered "genius" in humans. He did all he could to try and help all of the man's victims but it never truly helped in the end. It only increased his guilt.

He shouldn't be having feelings like that, he should only be thinking about his next meal and staying alive, like a normal horse. But no, he had to be part of an experiment on increasing animal intelligence in a lab before he was even born!

He exhaled slowly. He hated his life sometimes. He hated being as smart as a human. Although he loved Mary and John to death, they treated and raised him well. He never went through a week without being told how proud they were of him. He appeared on TV and newspapers, was mentioned on radio stations, even made it on a billboard or two. Life was good and was looking promising at the time.

He always felt his name was rather peculiar, "Cavalry", which is supposed to refer to a group of horsemen in a battle or something. But Mary had picked it, and he accepted that.

Life slowly turned to hell when she and John retired. He had been passed to a 'friend' whom they thought they could trust, they were wrong to think that. The so called friend's only interest was money. He sold him to the highest bidder at a farming auction, to a drunk ass man who didn't take proper care of him. He eventually landed in another place, and another, and another. His high intelligence disregarded and taken for granted every time.

The cycle continued for sometime, some would wait long periods before feeding him again, some would treat him like a pinata. This went on until he ended up here, with a man who takes females to his house so he can rape and kill them. When he was done, he would bury them in his pasture, because nobody would question dirt patches in a horse pen.

Ignoring the fresh rounds of screams emitting from the house, Cavalry trudged off back to a small barn connected to his paddock, where he slept. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand hearing another human life be cruelly taken by this awful man. Police had been to the farm a couple times, but he had been unsuccessful on getting their attention long enough.

Once he reached the barn, he slowly laid down on a pile of straw. He wished somebody would come and end this nightmare, both for him and all the women yet to be taken by that horrible man.

The sound of a small jet flying by alerted the intelligent animal and he watched as it flew by above the treeline, it was considerably low to the ground, meaning that it would be landing soon.

It didn't occur to him to think on what or who was inside it.

**To be continued... maybe.**

**Is this worth it? Should I keep going or abandon it right here and now? Be honest please!**

**Reviews, alerts, favorites, whatever you can do, helps encourage me. :P**


	2. First Encounters

**Note: I barely had this up and it already nabbed 4 alerts?**

Reid spent the whole ride to the station looking at the article on the paper, even though he remembered every word on it. Morgan would occasionally ask if he was even there. He knew Hotch would chew on him if he didn't start focusing on the case, but that horse just wouldn't leave his mind. His eidetic memory was partly to blame.

He wondered how a horse could be that smart, even with human interference. Horses were fairly intelligent animals but this was practically overkill. He wished he could meet this animal, to see what it was capable of, what it could tell, how it behaved. He wondered where it was right this moment, or if it was even still alive.

"Hey, kid! You getting out or what?"

Spencer snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Morgan standing outside the black Suburban, waiting for him. He noticeably blushed and got out. They walked into the building, where Hotch was introducing the team to the sheriff.

"And these are Agents Morgan and Reid." The Unit Chief gestured to the two approaching men. The sheriff shook hands with them. He had gray hair and a mustache, he was somewhat overweight and was shorter than JJ.

The station was small and a little cluttered. To the left was a map on the wall, a table in front of it. Short cabinets with stacks of paper on top. Ahead was a desk and to the right were multiple doors.

"Hi, Sheriff Muxen. Glad you all could come. We're not used to... things like this." He greeted with a little hesitance.

"So, where were the first two victims found?" Prentiss asked.

"They were near a small farm a few miles away. The last five are still missing." Muxen explained.

"Does anyone live at that farm?" Morgan asked. Reid walked over and studied the large map on the wall.

"Yes, a man in his 40's, name's Walter Walker." Muxen said. Derek tried to surpass a snicker at the silly name.

"Fishy looking guy. We've been over there a couple times, but he never had anything to say to us."

"Thank you, sheriff." Hotch said. Muxen nodded and walked towards one of the doors. Aaron turned to his team, ready to give out tasks.

"Prentiss, you and Reid get the address of this Mr. Walker and see if you can get anything out of him. Rossi and JJ, interview the latest victim's family. Morgan and I will check out the crime scene where the first two were found."

"I hope you have better luck than we did." Sheriff Muxen half muttered as he stepped out from the door he had disappeared behind a moment ago. "We've already done a majority of that and got nothing but dead ends."

"That's what we're here for." JJ said.

"I appreciate it." Muxen forced a small smile. "The most I can do for now is wish you all good luck."

"We'll do what we can." Dave assured. After getting the addresses from the sheriff, the profilers exited the station. JJ and Rossi got into one of the black 2007 Chevrolet Suburban 1500s while the others piled into the second one. The two large SUVs went onto the road and separated after reaching an intersection.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

JJ exhaled deeply as they approached the white mobile home. Dave glanced at her

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just can't imagine what these people must feel like. I mean, if I lost Henry or something, I couldn't..." She trailed off.

"It gets to us sometimes." Rossi said softly. "But what we can do is catch the one who did this, bring justice to families and save who we can."

JJ nodded. "Okay, um, let's go." The two agents walked up the steps and knocked on the door. A man with thinning hair opened it. He was tall with an average build.

"Hi, I'm SSA Rossi and this is Agent Jareau, we're with the FBI."

"FBI?" The man repeated in shock.

"Yes. May we come in?"

"Uh, sure." He opened the door wider and stepped off to the side.

The house was relatively clean compared to the more trashy appearance outside. To the right was a room with a flatscreen TV, a couch and a coffee table. To the left was a kitchen and dining room. Up ahead was a large open room that had a patio door.

"Honey, the FBI is here!" The man who answered the door shouted.

"What?" They heard a woman call from the other side of the house.

"Eh, she's coming." He said. "Have a seat if you'd like."

"That's okay." Rossi said. "By the way, we never got your name."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Mark Urban. My wife's name is Beth." He said. "Are you guys here about our daughter? Ashley?"

"We're trying to get some answers." JJ said.

"Right." Mark nodded. "So, what can I tell you?"

"Did Ashley have any places she liked to hang out a lot at, or did she have any friends maybe?" Dave asked.

"She spent her time at school or at a friend's place. If not then she'd be here at home." Mark explained. "She even had a boyfriend. Nice guy though. You might think as a father, I would be a little more suspicious of something like that, but I just never saw anything bad about him."

"Mark, who are these people?"

Mark and the two profilers turned and saw a woman with long dark wavy, but not curly hair. It was half her height and she was on the heavy side.

"They're FBI, Beth."

"Oh, have you found Ashley yet, or the son of a bitch who took her?" Beth asked, her tone a little demanding.

"We're trying." JJ said calmly.

"You better be." Beth snarled through clenched teeth. Mark was quick to lay a hand on her shoulder and tell her to calm down.

"They're only trying to help." He assured as he gently squeezed her shoulder. Beth's angry scowl was replaced by harsh sobbing as she threw herself into her husband's chest. Mark wrapped his arms around her, rubbing a soothing hand around her back.

"She's de- She's dead, isn't s-she?" Beth choked out.

"We don't know yet." Rossi said painfully. JJ bowed her head slightly.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Clear, blue skies, beautiful sunshine, what more could one ask for in a day? A lot, that's what.

The man finished putting the rest of the dirt back on the fresh grave. He ignored the animal that was staring at him a few feet away.

The horse wanted to go and attack him. Maybe kick him in the groin or bite him in the face. He managed to muster up enough self control not to.

When the man was done smirking at the dirt patch, he left the pasture, carrying his shovel and locked the gate. Cavalry slowly made his way over and stared down at the ground where another innocent laid under. He looked up and saw the man sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch of his house, who looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, even though he had just buried another female human he had killed last night. It made the intelligent equine sick to his stomach.

The man sighed with content and noticed the horse. He met eyes with the animal and smiled. Cavalry flattened his ears and turned around, his hind end facing the man. He just chuckled and leaned back in his chair, daydreaming about his next "hunt".

That last one was beautiful, her hair smelled nice too. Her skin was nice and smooth, and she was a little on the thin side. He wished he had kept her longer but, oh well. Such is life, or lack thereof for them. He snickered at himself.

Cavalry gazed at the man again, he was disgrace and a less than memorable sight. His jeans had holes at the knees, they had brown and green spots on them. His hair was like a dandruff hotel, no more vacancy. He could stand to lose 60 pounds or so, it was amazing he hadn't lost weight from all the carrying and dragging he does. And he was sure that that tan colored T-Shirt the man was wearing used to be white. Yuck.

And he didn't even want to think about the man's underwear.

The sound of a vehicle's tires crunching on the gravel road caught both the man's and the horse's attention. They saw it was a large black SUV approaching; a Chevrolet Suburban 1500 to be exact.

"Shit!" The man cursed as he leaped out of his chair and dashed into his house. Cavalry eyed the automobile with wonder. It must be some kind of authority, but what exactly? He had seen police cruisers come up here before but never something like this. The SUV had tinted windows but no logos. He could spot a siren on the grill but they were currently off.

He waited with anticipation when the vehicle came to a stop and two of the doors opened. He saw a woman with long, shiny dark hair get out of the driver's seat. What was she? A detective maybe? He spotted a gun in a holster and a pair of handcuffs behind her on the edge of her pants. She's definitely something.

He was a little disappointed after seeing a young, tall but underweight human get out of the passenger seat. He had a gun as well though. His hair was long, but not as long as the woman's, it was brown and fairly curly. He was wearing a white dress shirt and a black tie with a ridiculous burgundy colored sweater vest. If it wasn't for his gun, one would think he was a college student or a male model even.

They walked up the porch and the woman knocked on the door. The man opened it, he was forcing a smile but Cavalry could tell he was faking it.

"Walter Walker? I'm Emily Prentiss, and this is Dr. Spencer Reid-"

Walter Walker? That's his name? Cavalry neighed with laughter. Walter and the female known as Prentiss paid no heed to him, but the long haired guy turned and looked at him.

"We're with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit." Prentiss finished.

Did she say FBI? How on Earth did that skinny guy join?

"What's this about?" Walter tried to keep his voice calm.

"Woman have been going missing and two of them had been found near your place, dead. We were wondering if-"

"Are you saying I had something to do with them?" Walter cut her off, his eyes almost bulged with anger.

"No." Emily replied calmly. "We've reason to believe that you may have witnessed or possibly heard something?"

Walter's voice evened and a smile plastered on his face. "Nope. Can't say I have." He lied through his teeth. "Sorry agents."

"May we come inside?" Reid asked.

"No!" Walter said a little too quickly. "Uh, I mean, I'm renovating right now, as you can see the place isn't in it's greatest shape, and it's not all that safe either." He gestured to the front porch, the old wood indeed gave the house a dumpy look.

Reid gave him a skeptical look while Prentiss nodded.

"Is it alright if we look around the property then?" She asked.

"Be my guest." Walter shrugged. "Can't say you'll find what you're looking for though. In my opinion, you're wasting your time here."

"Thanks anyway." Reid said. Walter shut the door and the two profilers stepped off the porch and into the sunlight. Spencer noticed the horse was still staring at him. Prentiss looked around, then sighed.

"I'm afraid he's right though, I don't think we'll find much outside." She looked towards a small barn.

Cavalry watched as the nerdy man known as 'Reid' jogged back towards the house and onto the porch. As he crept quietly towards the window, realization hit the animal like a ton of bricks. There was something outside for them to see, but they didn't know. He galloped back towards his shelter.

Reid swallowed as he got closer and closer to the window, ignoring Emily, who was trying to call him back. It reminded him a little too much of when he had snuck a peek through the window of Tobias Hankel's house and discovered he was the unsub. Once he reached his destination, Walter was nowhere to be seen, and nothing inside looked out of the ordinary. He breathed a sigh a relief, at least there were no cornfields near by.

Spencer hopped off the porch and back towards Prentiss. He shook his head. "Nothing." He said, a little dejectedly.

"Let's head back, pick up Hotch and Morgan, call Rossi and JJ and see if they got anything." Emily said.

"Okay." Reid said. They started back towards their Suburban. Cavalry reappeared, holding a large white drawing board with a long blue marker attached to it. His eyes widened when he saw the FBI humans about to leave. _No, no! They can't go yet!_

He dropped the board on the ground and whinnied, hoping he could get their attention, but it didn't work. He tried again, still no luck. They were already in their vehicle and the Prentiss person was turning the large SUV around, about to drive away.

He quickly, but carefully grabbed the top end of the blue marker in his mouth and scribbled two letters on it. He held up the whiteboard the same way he held onto the marker, up high enough that they should be able to see it.

The car drove past him but he heard the skinny man say something, causing it to stop and back up until it was next to him.

Reid stared at the whiteboard in shock, but he didn't notice Emily had a similar expression.

Two big, blue letters, forming one simple word. "Hi".

Was he finally going crazy? Were he and Prentiss both going crazy perhaps? Or did this horse actually just talk to them?

**To be continued... maybe.**

**Note: Since this is my first casefic, I've noticed I could stand some improvement, which hopefully will come soon once I've "learned all the ropes" of writing casefics. :P**

**I need more encouragement!**


	3. The Case Continues

**When I first started writing fanfiction, I made a promise to myself that I would never leave a fic unfinished...**

Neither Reid nor Prentiss knew exactly what to do or how to even react. This was something beyond anything the two agents ever knew. Emily was for sure that Walter had to be playing some kind of trick on them, but his house had become strangely quiet and still. Reid never even saw him through the window, unless Walter anticipated that and hid somewhere.

Cavalry stood there patiently, holding the marker board and waiting for the two humans to do something. He was used to people reacting this way when he showed off his abilities, it didn't bug him or anything, but the stunned silence even made him unsure of what to do next. Perhaps he should write another message, now that he gained the attention of the two FBI agents, but he wasn't sure on what to say.

Both Emily and Spencer blinked their eyes after both realized they had been staring at the animal for a while now, his movement snapped them out of their trance and they watched intently for a moment as the blue marker formed new words after the previous had been erased with an eraser.

"Reid?" Prentiss asked with uncertainty. "Are we seeing the same thing?"

"I... I don't know." The young profiler replied quietly. The horse finished scribbling and carefully picked up the board again. "My name is Cavalry" Spencer read the new words aloud. It didn't take long for him to realize that this had to be the same intelligent beast he'd read about in the paper. Back at Quantico, this case looked like any other, but now he was really getting confused, his own high intelligence wasn't going to help him much here.

"This has got to be some kind of trick." Prentiss said, almost flatly. "Walter has definitely got to be pulling something." She gazed at his house through the rear view mirror, seeing nothing out of place. Cavalry snorted and shook his head, intending to get the dark haired woman to see that this was no trick of any kind. Reid opened the door and got out, walking slowly towards the fence. He ignored Emily's protests as he approached the brown haired animal.

"Hi." Spencer said cautiously. He felt more than uncomfortable doing this, it made him feel as if he really was crazy. The horse nickered with satisfaction and perked his ears forward. Reid stopped until he was right at the fence, wondering if he should just run and get back inside the SUV.

"Reid, what are you doing?" Emily hissed. He turned around to look at her, but said nothing. Prentiss sighed and dared herself to step any closer. Spencer turned back and gulped as he attempted to find his voice.

"I'm S-Spencer Reid." Cavalry nodded, to assure the man that he heard and understood what he had said. 'Spencer', hmm, that has a nice ring to it. Emily finally found it in her to step next to Reid. She forced a smile that came out more nervous than she wanted it to be.

"Hello, I'm Emily Prentiss." She said, feeling very odd about being afraid of making a fool of herself in some way or another. Cavalry nodded once more. Silence ensued again, the horse and the two agents stared at each other. Prentiss passed a glance at Spencer, hoping he would know what to do next. Eventually, Reid decided he would try and ask the animal some questions, since he didn't know how well off the others were, and the more information they had, the better, even if it wasn't from a human source. Sighing, Reid mentally prepared himself.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Rossi noticed JJ had grown unusually quiet as they got back in their SUV. He figured he knew why, he felt a similar way, but he kept that hidden. JJ sighed as she a hand through her hair. She knew she would feel the same as the couple they had just interviewed if she lost any of her family, considering she saw the BAU as part of it. She inwardly cringed when thoughts of the Hankel case ran through her head, causing her stomach to tie up in knots. They had nearly lost Reid that time, and she still blamed herself for that, despite the many times Spencer had reassured her otherwise.

Knowing she had to keep her head in the game, and keep from worrying Dave any further than he already looked, she sat upright, briefly gazing at the Senior SSA.

"Are you okay, Agent Jareau?" He asked, JJ was partly hoping he wouldn't.

"Yeah, I am." She replied a little too quickly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rossi asked compassionately.

"A later time." JJ admitted. Dave nodded and started the engine. After regaining her composure, JJ pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hotch's number. She sat the phone to her ear and listened to it ring until she heard the Unit Chief on the other line.

"Hey, Hotch... No, we didn't get much info. Just that she was a pretty average community girl." JJ said. "She did have a boyfriend though, but..." Realization hit her when she realized they hadn't even bothered to ask what the name of this apparent boyfriend's name was. "No, we didn't." She sighed. "Yeah, we haven't left yet, we can still go ask."

"Do it. We haven't found much over here, and I haven't heard from Reid and Prentiss yet." Hotch replied.

"Okay." JJ said. Rossi stopped the vehicle before they went too far, after the Senior SSA reversed and stopped, JJ got out and went back up the steps. She knocked on the door and waited until Mark opened it. His eyes widened a little upon seeing the blonde again.

"Did you find something?" He asked desperately.

"N-no, we forgot to ask what the name of Ashley's boyfriend is." The media liaison said with a slight hint of embarrassment.

"Oh." Mark said, disappointed. "Adam James."

"Would you happen to know his address?"

"No, sorry." He shook his head.

"Thanks anyway." JJ replied. "Our technical analyst can run a background check, and probably find his address." She pulled out her cell phone and began to dial as she walked down the steps.

"Call us if you find anything about our daughter." Mark called out.

"We will." JJ turned briefly before making her way back to the SUV where Dave was patiently waiting. She seated herself and shut the door just as Garcia answered.

"Hello my lovelies." The quirky woman greeted with a smile, even though nobody could see it.

"Garcia, I need an address and a background on Adam James." JJ said.

"Okay." Penelope replied as she quickly typed out the name. When she finished, a picture appeared, revealing a young man with short, black hair. Then came a profile. JJ could hear the beeping from the other line.

"What did you get?" The blonde asked.

"This Adam James you ask of has had a few drug related crimes in the past." Garcia explained. "His mother disappeared when he was 4, and not sure who the father is yet."

"Really?" JJ said. "So much for Ashley's father thinking he was an all round good guy. How about the address?"

"Hold on, I'll send it to you."

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Cavalry made sure to answer everything Reid asked him, although it took a while, being that he had to write it all down, since he couldn't speak. Prentiss finally managed to overcome her embarrassment and joined in on question asking. The horse told them about Walter dragging some woman to his house every so often, then doing who knows what to them before killing them, then dragging them out to bury them in the pasture. Although they weren't too surprised that Walter had anything to do with the disappearings, they would need solid proof. Fortunately, Cavalry did have proof, the dirt patches in his pasture, where some of the victims were, though Walter thought nobody would suspect anything there, and he thought Cavalry would be too stupid to be able to tell anyone.

The horse glanced every so often toward the house, he felt as if Walter was watching them from inside, and knowing how crazy he could get, he feared for the agents' lives. Sure, they were armed, but the long haired scrawny guy didn't look very impressive with a gun in his belt.

"Reid, we should probably get back to the station." Prentiss said. Heading back to the SUV.

"Okay." Reid started to follow. "Thank you so much, Cavalry." He smiled and waved to the horse.

"Cavalry?" Emily questioned.

"That's his name." Spencer pointed out while he opened his door and got in.

"Yeah, I remember, It's just a... strange name for a horse, but..." Prentiss decided not ask any further as she seated herself.

"Hey, Prentiss?"

"Yes, Reid?"

"We should take Cavalry with us." He said. "You know, he's kind of a witness."

"Reid, we can't."

"How come?"

"First off," She started. "We are in no position to take things from someone's property, that's up to the detectives." Cavalry flattened his ears, he hated being called a "thing".

"Secondly, we have no way to bring him with us anyway." Prentiss gestured to the back of their SUV. "We don't have a trailer to haul him."

"Right." The young doctor sighed. "We should come back though, with the others."

"Definitely." Prentiss agreed.

Cavalry was more than excited, he hoped things would work out for the agents, and that they would throw Walter in jail. He heard the engine start on their vehicle as the skinny 'Reid' guy fastened his seatbelt.

"Reid, one problem."

"Yeah, Emily?" Spencer turned to face his colleague.

"Exactly who is going to believe us when we tell them we interviewed a _horse?_"

"Oh..." He frowned, he hadn't thought of that.

**I feel a little crazy myself starting this, but some ideas just gotta get out... :P**


	4. The Unraveling Begins

**I haven't published or updated anything in a while. It's about time I did, wouldn't you agree?**

**Remember, this is my first case fic ever, not my area of expertise. :P**

**Thank you all for the reviews.**

Swallowing a growing lump in his throat, Reid began to dial a number on his cell phone, when he finished, he placed the device next to his ear and waited for the other line to pick up. After two rings, the familiar voice of JJ was heard.

"Yeah, Reid?" She answered.

"Ah," He cleared his throat. "Did you and Rossi get much?" He asked, glancing at the side view mirror as the white fencing disappeared behind some trees

"Well, according to Ashley's father, she had a boyfriend named Adam James, Garcia looked him up and found that he has some drug violations. She also got his address."

"Adam?" Spencer said silently. That name, that one four letter name will always haunt him. That case, the murders at the hotel, Amanda...

"Spence, you there?" JJ grew a little concerned when she didn't get a response. Squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, The young agent sighed before saying "I'm fine." His motion briefly caught Prentiss' attention before she turned back to the road.

"Should one of us go there or..." Reid asked but trailed off, he was still trying to get some unwanted memories out of his head, at least for the time being.

"I already spoke to Hotch and Morgan, they said they would, but they need a ride over. They didn't find much at the crime scene." The blonde explained. "So, how about you and Emily? Anything helpful?"

Spencer pursed his lips, he hadn't anticipated explaining so soon, he also didn't know exactly how to either. He shot Prentiss a look, even though she wasn't hearing the conversation, she immediately caught on. Becoming very uncertain, she mouthed words that looked like they said "I don't know." Now glaring at her, he mouthed words himself that were meant to read "Thanks a lot." Exhaling quietly, he finally said to the phone; "We'll tell you when we get back to the station."

Nodding, JJ soon ended the call and pocketed her phone.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

If Spencer hadn't pointed out that they still needed to pick up Hotchner and Morgan, they would have completely forgotten them. Prentiss had to turn around and make her way back to the crime scene. When they arrived, neither of the two men seemed to be aware of the time as they hopped in. Aaron gave the dark haired woman the address of Adam James' place which Garcia had given them before they once again got on the road.

After arriving, Reid and Emily stayed in the car while Hotch wasn't sure if either Morgan was just desperate to talk to this guy, or if he didn't realize how many times he'd been pounding on the door. A yapping sound from the other side indicated that a small breed dog was inside, but still nobody answered. The Unit Chief finally told his agent to stop, the constant knocking was almost worse than that annoying dog's barking. It was obvious that nobody was home, no vehicles were present on the property, and the mobile home was dark. Despite the somewhat dry grass being on the tall side, the profilers could tell that somebody lived here recently, after all, it was hard to miss that yapping animal. Derek tested the handle, it was locked of course. Sighing he made his way down the steps, his boss wordlessly followed him to their SUV and seated themselves.

"Well, what now?" Morgan asked.

"We head over to the station and see if we can work with anything the others might have gotten for now." He said, receiving a nod from the younger man, Perentiss began to drive. Derek felt his stomach growl, he was getting hungry, and while Aaron would never openly admit it, he was too, and it wouldn't surprise him if the rest of the team were either. Maybe they'd stop by that Dairy Queen by the interstate and get everyone some lunch. Ice cream kind of sounded good as well, it was pretty warm outside.

Once they got everyone's orders, they eventually got to the station just as JJ and Rossi were parking their own vehicle. They entered the building and settled at the table they had been given. The agents ate their food while working the profile, unfortunately, there isn't much that hadn't already been covered.

Reid and Prentiss glanced at each other from their seats. They knew they had vital information that could help solve this case, but the hard part was explaining the source of it. The two thought for a while, coming up with excuses that just wouldn't work. Finally, if it were scientifically possible, a lightbulb would have appeared over Emily's head and turned on. Spencer noticed her change of expression before she spoke up.

"Me and Reid spoke to one of Walter's neighbors." All eyes drew onto her, a situation that would have made Spencer very uncomfortable.

"Why didn't you say something before?" Derek questioned.

"Oh, ah..." Prentiss stammered. "I nearly had forgotten."

"You had info that we desperately need, and you almost forgot it?" Morgan growled, taking Emily by surprise.

"Morgan, let it go." Hotch stepped in quickly. Derek huffed but recomposed himself when his phone rang. "Go on, Agent Prentiss."

"Okay, so this neighbor, he said he's seen Walter drag women into his house, then later on in the night, drag them out and bury them in a pasture."

"Women, as in plural, meaning he's seen this more than once. Why didn't this neighbor report it?" Dave wondered aloud.

"Guys." Derek interrupted, silencing everyone. "Garcia has something for us." He sat his phone down on the table, pressing a button. "You're on speaker now, Penelope."

"So, I managed to dig deeper on this Adam James, I found that he has three brothers, each named Tim, Anthony, and Conrad. Their current age range is 17 to 20, they all share the same last name and they all have similar criminal records including drugs and alcohol, not to mention sexual assault and theft."

By now, Sheriff Muxen and several officers had their attention drawn on the quirky woman's voice along with the profilers, listening to every word spoken through the speaker.

"The mother of these four brothers' name is Nichole James, and the father and husband is known as Walter Walker. Still doing a background check on him."

Everyone present shot up and sent looks to one another, nobody saying a word as realization sunk in. It seemed now that they may finally have their man, but solid proof was still needed. According to a 'neighbor' Prentiss and Reid spoke to, there are visible dirt patches in a pasture where Walter had apparently buried his victims.

"Walter Walker is the one?" Muxen asked? "I should have known." He shook his head. "I can't believe we didn't see it sooner."

"What matters now is that he's our prime suspect, and we even have an eyewitness and may possibly have physical evidence." Hotch said.

"He must have started leaving his victims around his property after his first two were discovered at the crime scene down the road." Rossi added. "He didn't look elsewhere for a new dump site, he chose his own home."

"I'm willing to bet Walter's wife was actually his first victim." JJ said.

"But they never found her body, did they?" Morgan asked.

"No, never did." The sheriff said. "Who knows what that man did with her."

"We need to get a warrant, then over to Walter's place, now." The BAU leader ordered.

"You heard him, go, go, go." Muxen urged his officers. The near dead station suddenly became bustling with activity. Emily and Spencer went and sat back down at the table, away from the others who were beginning to get prepared.

"Reid, we still haven't told the others yet about, you know, Cavalry?"

"I know," He sighed. "But it's not as easy as it sounds, and we both know that."

"Sooner or later, we're going to have to, and we'll need to be ready when the time comes."

"Or we could just let Cavalry show for himself."

"That could work too." She agreed.

"Yo, Emily, Pretty Boy, you guys gonna get ready or what?" Derek called out to them. The two quickly got up and headed over to where the rest of the team was standing, making plans and debates.

"Let's just hope he's up for performing in front of a crowd."

**To be continued...**

**I hope I'm not boring you too much. :P**


	5. Gone Horsey Gone

**Your reviews help encourage me, and for that I thank you, and Cavalry does too.**

**I'm so sorry, but I forgot to mention that this fic takes place right before season 5. I'll be sure to add that to the summery.**

Two large black SUVs raced down the road with a swarm of cruisers not far behind. Red and blue lights lit up the rural area, leading the way was Hotch with Sheriff Muxen in the passenger seat, and Rossi and JJ in the back. Behind them were Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before." Muxen sighed. "I mean, I should have, but..." He trailed off.

"Sheriff, it's okay, we all make mistakes now and then." Hotch said.

"Well, this 'mistake' lead to the deaths of seven women." He said with an obvious hint of anger, morely directed to himself.

"What you need to realize is that this man chose to do what he did, nobody made or told him to do any of that, he _chose _to."

"Because he's a psycho?" The older man added.

"Well, yes, but you need not blame yourself for something that somebody else did."

"I could have prevented it though, I could have made sure less women died because of this sick son of a bitch."

"Muxen, we can't always save everybody, as badly as we'd like to, but the best thing to do is to think about the ones we can." Rossi explained.

"You make it sound easier than it is." The sheriff muttered. "These kind of things aren't common around here, and it's hard on everybody."

The veteran profiler nodded in understanding.

A sound emitted from Muxen's pants pocket and he reached in to pull out a cell phone, he answered the call and placed the device next to his ear. After a series of "yeah" and "uh-huh", he concluded the call with "I'll tell them". He pressed a button and slipped the phone back in his pocket and exhaled deeply, the three profilers in the vehicle with him could tell right away that something was wrong.

"Sheriff, what is it?" Hotch asked.

He paused briefly before responding. "A young woman was reported missing by her parents a few minutes ago, and I have a gut feeling who is responsible."

"Walter?" JJ asked.

"Undoubtedly."

"Sure is brave to still be taking victims even when the FBI is around." Dave mused. "He must feel that he's invisible, like nobody would figure him out."

"If that's the case, then there's a possibility that he may not even be home." Aaron said.

"Great." Muxen grumbled.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Despite the rough, gravel driveway, the group of vehicles still sped down the bumpy path, stopping near the dark looking house, a pair of cruisers blocked the driveway just in case, but among the first things the BAU noticed was the absence of any form of transportation, along with the entire property looking practically abandoned. The agents backed up by Sheriff Muxen and several officers surrounded the large, dinky farmhouse with weapons drawn, a few of them went on the front porch, where Morgan kicked the door open with ease, almost a little too much ease, as if it hadn't even been locked. Prentiss and a couple of officers coughed as a horrid smell assaulted their nostrils. Derek pinched the bridge of his nose while trying to fight the urge to vomit. How on Earth did Walter live like this?

The house was unsurprisingly a mess, and unclean for that matter. There was a set of stairs which lead to an attic, as well as an additional one that lead down to a basement. Knowing that basements were a favored place for unsubs to do awful things to their victims, the group headed down just as the rest of the team entered the house and looked elsewhere. After finding a switch, light came from a single bulb, there was a chair that appeared to have a set of electrocution devices and of course restraints for the wrists and ankles, a nearby table had a similar set up, but had another table next to it lined with sex toys.

"Oh, God." Emily groaned. "This guy's worse than we thought."

"And he doesn't appear to be here either." Morgan said while looking around for anything they might be missing. The group retreated back upstairs where they met the others and explained their findings. They all hurried outside to get away from the awful smell of the house's inside.

"Look." JJ pointed towards a pasture, where five different empty holes showed signs of fresh digging.

"That must've been where he kept his other victims after killing them, the ones that weren't found." Rossi said grimly.

"And now they're gone, and so is Walter." Muxen stated.

"With now an eightieth woman, who may still be alive." Aaron added.

"Now what?" Morgan asked.

"If only we knew what Walter Walker is driving." JJ said.

"Reid, you and Prentiss were here earlier, maybe you could remember any vehicles that were here before?" The BAU leader asked.

"An old red beat down Ford truck." Spencer recalled with little effort. "And a white horse trailer. I'm pretty sure I saw the plates on the truck as well."

"Neither of which are here now though." Emily pointed to a very rundown garage that looked to be on the verge of collapsing, which is where Reid last saw the vehicles.

"I can have Garcia look up numbers." Morgan offered, getting ready to retrieve his phone.

"So, Walter's flown the coop, he's on the run with seven corpses in his truck, and probably a live one with him." The sheriff explained unhappily.

"We'll find him." Dave said encouragingly.

"Emily," Reid whispered, tapping on the dark haired woman's shoulder.

"What?" She asked, matching the young doctor's hushed tone. She looked over to where one of his long, skinny fingers pointed to, at the pasture where the dug up graves could be seen, the gate was open also. It was then she realized what Spencer was trying to point out.

"He took Cavalry too."

**To be continued...**


	6. Search and Rescue

**Thank you for all your reviews, they mean a lot to me. :)**

"Okay, thanks Penelope." Morgan snapped his phone shut and turned to the others. "Garcia's still trying to get an exact location on Walter's truck, but she already found out that he's only within a 10 mile radius from here."

"But there's so many trees." Sheriff Muxen said. "I can't say for sure if she'd be able to."

"You don't know her like we do." Rossi smiled. "Trust me."

"Sheriff, send out more officers to search for him, it'll make things easier." Hotch instructed.

"That'll also pressure him." Muxen stated. "How do we know he won't just snap and murder the girl if he hasn't already? I mean, he's already taken 7 lives as it is."

"Agent Reid said his truck also had a horse trailer, meaning he's either using that as some sort of cover so nobody would be suspicious, or he has someone else, or something with him. An animal maybe. Now, what this animal or additional person means to him is currently unknown. But I think the chances of him killing the young woman he has in his possession is actually quite low, for now anyway. Which is why we all need to get going and try to find him as soon as possible." Aaron explained.

"I'll get some more men ready." The sheriff said.

"Good." Hotch went over to where two of his agents were standing. "Reid, Prentiss, we're leaving now."

"Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"To find Walter." The Unit Chief spun around and hopped in the driver's seat of one of the Chevrolet Suburbans, which already had Muxen, JJ, and Rossi seated within. Morgan got into the other SUV and called out to the other two. "Emily, Pretty Boy, let's go!"

"Reid, you coming?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, yeah."

As they raced down the rough gravel driveway, Spencer couldn't get his mind off Cavalry, he bit his lip nervously, wondering if he, as well as the girl, were alive and unharmed. Wherever they were, he hoped they would be alright.

The two large vehicles and several police cruisers split up after they reached the road, then they all went down different streets, all in search of a sadistic man, holding a girl captive, with probably 7 corpses in his truck, which was towing a trailer that either contained another person, or possibly an animal.

However, most of them at the moment weren't concerned about what animal that might be.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Trees, houses, fences, and signs all flew by like a rocket. Although he could tell that he was undoubtedly going higher than the speed limit would ever allow, he was at least making sure not to go too fast and cause an accident. That would only bring more trouble on his part, not that he wanted anymore.

The main reason he was fleeing was because the feds were closing in on him, and he had no other choice but to run. Cavalry too had no other choice when Walter had taken another girl and threatened to kill her in front of him with a knife in his hand if he didn't obey, naturally, the horse did whatever it took to ensure the young woman's safety. He got into the trailer that was already hitched to his truck, Cavalry saw that five of his victims from before were piled in the bed under a tarp. He watched as Walter forced the one he had into his truck, he climbed in after her and sped off.

The trailer squeaked occasionally from going over bumps so fast, the beat up truck groaned once in a while too. Cavalry knew if he kicked the door enough times, he could get out of the trailer, but at the pace Walter was driving, it was much too risky, plus, he would likely have a sore hoof or leg afterwards. The girl he'd taken had her hands tied in front of her with rope, and her mouth had duct tape over it. She could easily open the door and escape of she tried, but like Cavalry, the chance of injury was just too high to be worth it. Not to mention, she found out when she first encountered the man that despite his prominent girth, he was surprisingly fast on his feet, faster than her anyway. She looked around anxiously, hoping for an opportunity to come, but no such luck, and Cavalry knew why. Walter knew the streets well, mostly the back roads, and where he could avoid speed traps. The horse could only guess what the man was capable of, from the times he beat him when he was drunk, and when he dragged out the bodies of the woman he killed. Right now though, he feared for the girl's life more than his own, as if ever the chance came, he could easily overpower Walter, but he didn't like having to hurt humans, even if they are sick, twisted sons of bitches. With his high intelligence, attacking or hurting a human being could cause him to be viewed as a dangerous animal, because he would be aware of what he's doing, but nobody would think of self-defense before anything else.

He looked around, the truck and trailer had yet to slow down, he wasn't even sure where they were anymore, and he wondered if those FBI profilers even knew. Probably not, though even in his current situation, he still had faith in the agents, especially that skinny one, he'd kind of grown fond of him, and he seemed very smart too.

Then again, should they fail, the girl will suffer that fate of the seven before her, Walter will either roam free or eventually be captured by the time he's an old man, and for himself? He'll probably end up as a sausage link somewhere, like maybe France. Cavalry knew the French eat horse meat a lot. Or maybe...

The animal jumped when sudden sounds jerked him out of his thoughts, they sounded an awful lot like sirens... Sirens!

He could barely contain his eagerness when he saw the familiar color of red and blue flash between some trees, then appear just meters away behind the trailer. It looked like the SUV that the two agents from before had driven. The headlights blinded him, but he was still able to make out the two people in the front seat. The one driving had short, black hair, and the other had gray hair and a bald spot. There appeared to be two other people in the backseat, but he didn't really recognize them, or the two in front either.

More sirens could be heard, a second SUV appeared along with a couple police cruisers. Suddenly, the trailer and truck screeched to a halt, causing Cavalry to fall over and slam into the side, but it didn't really hurt. He looked through the front window and saw more cruisers block the way. Walter got out of his truck, dragging the girl with her. He held a knife to her throat and began making threats while the profilers tried to negotiate. Cavalry instantly noticed two of the agents, weren't their names Emily and Spencer?

"Walter, put the knife down." Hotch ordered, keeping a steady aim with his firearm.

"No!" He growled. "Move the cars out of my way so I can leave, and I won't harm the girl."

"You know we can't do that."

"Fine, I'll just kill her right here." He tightened his hold, causing her to gasp and whimper.

"What about your sons, Walter?" Prentiss asked. "Do you think they really want their father dead?"

"My boys love me." He grinned.

"Then let her go."

"Look around you, Walter." Muxen spoke up. "There are over a dozen guns, all of which are pointed at you. Drop the knife, let the girl go, give it up. It's over."

The man grumbled while considering his options, and frankly, he didn't have very many. Killing the girl would result in his own demise, and his sons would be without their father, on the other hand, he'll basically be handing himself over on a silver platter to the police. After a moment of tense silence, he opened his one hand, allowing the weapon to fall to the ground. He then roughly pushed the young woman to the ground and smirked when she cried out. Morgan and a couple officers quickly seized Walter and took him to a cruiser.

Rossi and JJ went to check over the girl while an ambulance was called. Meanwhile, Reid and Prentiss hurried over to the horse trailer where Cavalry was. They couldn't be happier to see the beast was okay, and it looked like he was glad to see them too. The animal slowly moved forward and nuzzled Spencer in the face.

"I think he likes you, Reid." Emily laughed.

"At least there's no 'Reid effect.'". He muttered. "And the others still don't know about him."

"Ugh, I keep forgetting that." She exhaled. "How are we-"

"Hey guys, what you up to? Whoa!" Morgan exclaimed when he saw Cavalry. "We better call a service to take this animal to a vet, he might be hurt." He began to reach for his phone.

"Wait, Derek!"

"What?"

"There's something Reid and I need to tell you." She said hesitantly.

"Show you, actually." The young doctor corrected.

"Okay?"

Prentiss took a deep breath, sharing an unsure glance with Spencer, and then toward Cavalry, who still stood there in the trailer waiting patiently.

"It's about this horse..." Reid began.

**To be continued...**

**I hope you're still enjoying, and that I'm not boring you too much or anything. :P**


	7. Meeting the Team

**Your reviews (and/or favorites and alerts) help keep me going! Thank you!**

**One-time interaction time with the reviewers!**

**I-Smell-Cheese: I couldn't agree more with everything you said!**

**Cadens Stella: :)**

**Sue1313: It could happen, but then again it might not! You'll just have to wait and see. ;)**

**Cupcake-chan: Your wish is my command; Here you go! :D**

**007: I'm pretty sure I did, but in case you need a recap, Cavalry is brown with a darker mane and tail, he stands about 5'9 at the head in human measurements, and I haven't said what his breed is yet, but that's later to come. ;)**

**Okay, enough of that.**

"What about the horse?" Morgan asked.

"He's intelligent, Morgan. Like, super smart." Prentiss explained.

"I thought boy genius over there said that all horses were smart?"

"I did." Spencer said. "But this one goes beyond that, he understands and responds to human commands."

"I'm sure any horse can with the right training." Derek shook his head. "Come on guys, be serious now."

"We are!" Emily half stuttered. "Look. Show him, Reid."

The young profiler didn't need to told twice. He was very eager to help the animal gain some recognition from his abilities, though he apparently had some already judging from that paper he read on the flight over. And maybe, just maybe, he could do even more...

Clearing his throat, he turned to the horse. "Okay, Cavalry, nod-"

"Cavalry?" Morgan repeated.

"That's his name." Prentiss said.

"Um, nod." Reid spoke. The beast began moving his head up and down for a moment, then stopped. He turned to his older colleague with an expectant look on his face.

"Is that all he can do?"

Spencer frowned. "Just you wait." He turned back to the horse again. "Cavalry, stomp your hoof 5 times." He responded by doing just that against the flooring of the trailer.

"Hate to be party pooper, but I'm still not convinced." The dark skinned agent folded his arms.

"Fine." Reid pouted. "But this will. Cavalry, is my name Emily Prentiss?" The horse immediately shook his head then faced the dark haired woman standing next to him and stretched out his neck toward her while nickering.

Morgan froze from where he stood. _Okay, now they're getting somewhere._

"Cavalry," Prentiss spoke up. "Who is Walter Walker?" The brown haired animal flattened his ears, flicked his tail and stomped his hoof once, exhaled sharply, then bared his teeth briefly.

"Hm, I agree." She smirked.

"Okay, okay," Derek held his hands up in mock surrender. "You guys got me now, but what do you plan on doing with him?"

"Well, for starters, I believe Walter is going to be facing a judge, and technically, Cavalry is an eyewitness, so he could testify against the man in court, along with the victims parents.." Emily explained.

"I suppose, but how are you going to convince the judge to let him do that?" Morgan asked.

"The same way we convinced you." Spencer smiled.

"Not to mention, the rest of the team, smart ass."

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"Have they ID'd the bodies yet?" JJ asked after approaching Rossi.

"Only two so far." The Senior SSA replied. "Walter's wife, Nichole James, and the Urbans' daughter Ashley."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed, and Dave didn't blame her. "Those poor parents."

"I know." He said sympathetically. "I'll have the sheriff send an officer to inform the family about Ashley, and Walter."

"Okay." The blonde watched as the veteran profiler walked away. She sighed and partially wrapped her arms around herself, staring down at the ground.

"Hey, JJ!" Spencer nearly shouted, causing her to jump. "Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Spence." She chuckled. "What is it?"

"Emily, Derek and I gotta show you something, and if possible, could you have Hotch and Rossi come?"

"Well, Rossi's busy and I'm not sure where Hotch is. Why, wha-"

"Just come on!" The young genius said excitedly, grabbing her hand and half dragging her along with him.

"What is it, Reid?" She laughed, trying hard not to lose her footing. "Did you find some rare lizard or something?"

"Better than that." He grinned.

They came to a sudden halt and JJ almost fell over. She stumbled for a moment before Spencer helped her regain her balance. When the media liaison looked up, she saw a couple of her co-workers standing by a horse that was now outside of a trailer hitched to Walter's truck. She opened her mouth to say something but Reid dashed over and gestured to her.

"Cavalry, this is our friend JJ." He introduced. Cavalry neighed once and nodded his head, as if saying 'hello' to her. "Okay, can you show JJ what you can do?"

"Guys, what's going on?" The blonde asked, feeling very uneasy at the moment.

"JJ, you got to check this horse out." Derek said. "You will freak!"

"I think I'm plenty freaked already considering I just saw Spence talking to a horse."

"No, seriously," Emily spoke up. "You need to see what he can do."

"Alright..." JJ complied.

After some time, it took her a while to realize that her jaw had been hanging open. She was astonished to say the least at what she just saw before her very eyes. The horse did several things that one normally wouldn't be able to do, couldn't, or even shouldn't. She soon learned that 'Cavalry' had also been present during the killings, he alone could almost guarantee Walter some serious jail time. The bodies were being examined and already fingerprints had been found in various areas, all of which belonged to Walter. Another thing to use against him when the time came. Despite the amount of deaths, this was turning out to be a semi good case after all.

However, JJ knew just as well as the others that Hotch and Rossi were going to be the most difficult to convince, but if it was necessary to solve this case, perhaps they would be willing to accept the... situation.

Just then, the group looked over and saw the two elder profilers approaching them.

"Walter's about to be interrogated, one of us should head over to the station." Hotch said.

"I'll go." Morgan offered. Getting ready to hop into one of the Suburbans.

"Even with the damning evidence we have already?" Prentiss asked.

"We still need a confession." Rossi grumbled. "He'll likely be going to court too."

"Oh! Hotch, Rossi, I was hoping you guys would turn up. I got to show you the horse that was with Walter!" Reid exclaimed.

"Reid, we don't really have time, we-" Hotch started, but was cut off.

"No, just hear me out! It'll just take a little moment, please?" The younger man begged. Aaron sighed, even he found It hard to not give into Spencer's youthful innocence at times, and this was one of them. Hotch along with Rossi allowed themselves to be lead over to the truck and trailer where Cavalry waited. The animal instantly recognized the two men from one of the vehicles. One had a rather stern expression on his face, while the other was a little softer, whom also had facial hair.

"Okay, Reid, what was it you wanted us to see?" The BAU leader asked.

"For future reference, his name is Cavalry, and Cavalry, this is my boss Aaron Hotchner, and my colleague David Rossi." Spencer smiled. "Now without further ado, prepare to be amazed." He and the horse shared a glance before they began their show. What Aaron thought would last a minute or two went on longer than he expected, though he had to admit, he was significantly impressed by this animal, Dave clearly was, as the Senior SSA found himself asking the horse to do a trick here and there. What made Hotch even more pleased was the fact that 'Cavalry' would prove vital for solving the case and putting Walter behind bars.

He watched for a while longer while Reid and Rossi, as well as JJ and Emily entertained themselves with the horse, but he knew he would have to stop their fun eventually. He cleared his throat, catching their attention. He walked up to Cavalry, stepping between his agents.

"So, Cavalry," He began, feeling very foolish for talking to an animal, but he hid it well. "Would you be willing to testify against Walter Walker in court?"

The beast whinnied and nodded it's head quickly. _Yes! Yes, of course! It's about time justice be served..._

"Good." Hotch returned a nod of his own. Reid grinned from ear to ear as he began to pet Cavalry on the head, just as Prentiss started to scratch his neck. JJ and Rossi complimented on how amazing he was and how they both wished they had had a pet like him. The horse closed his eyes and sighed with content.

He hasn't felt this good in years.

**To be continued...**


	8. Trial, then Error

**Thank you all for reviewing! You guys rock!**

_A couple days later..._

Cavalry stood at the stand as best he could. His rear side was settled on the steps outside of the stand, while his front end stood in front of the chair and by the microphone, not that he could use either of them since he lacked the ability to speak, and he couldn't exactly sit in the chair, but he was able to answer every 'yes' or 'no' question that was asked. Whenever he started to become nervous, he would look over to where the BAU sat, particularly at Spencer Reid, and almost instantly feel calm again

Walter sat at the defendant's table beside an attorney he'd been given. The man had owned Cavalry for a long time, and now he was likely going to be thrown in jail thanks to him. The thought alone made the horse smirk inside, he was more than glad to get him out of his life. Once he was done, it was the girl's turn, the one who Walter had taken. She explained in full detail from when it all started to the point where Walter had been caught.

A short time later the jury went off to begin discussions, the courtroom became awkwardly quiet, aside from an occasional cough. The team was pretty positive that Walter would end up behind bars, they had good evidence, an eyewitness, a surviving victim, plus plenty of testimonies. Many heads shot over toward the returning jurors, it certainly didn't take them very long. After the judge asked if they had reached a verdict, the magic words were spoken.

"We find the defendant guilty."

Seven counts of rape and murder, eight counts of kidnapping, apparently, Walter's wife hadn't been living with him for some time. In addition to that, animal abuse. The courtroom nearly spun out of control, several people, mostly the parents of the victims cheered and applauded. the surviving girl hugged her own tightly. Sheriff Muxen even found himself clapping, Cavalry neighed ecstatically as Derek Morgan wrapped an arm around his neck and began to rub it.

"Order! Order!" The judge shouted, but her efforts proved almost useless. She could barely hear the gavel above everyone else. Walter seethed as he was lead away. He sent Cavalry and the BAU all a death glare, not that it fazed any of them, but the horse couldn't resist returning a smug look of his own. Soon it started to become very crowded as he found himself surrounded by almost everybody who was present.

Once they managed to exit the room, the group headed out of the building. Cavalry walked down the steps with ease, as if it was a normal thing for him. Naturally, a fact popped up into Reid's head.

"Did you know that a cow can be lead up stairs, but not down them?" He only received a pair of rolling eyes from Morgan.

None of them had been expecting a swarm of hungry reporters that were waiting for them though.

"Dr. Reid, did you train Cavalry?"

"Will the horse be accompanying your team on other cases from now on?"

"Is it true that the animal's IQ is in the 'genius level' for humans?"

"Where did these reporters come from?" Hotch asked.

"News spreads quickly around here." Muxen admitted. "Perhaps a little too quickly in you're guys' case."

The team looked beyond the large gathering of people, cameras, and notepads where the SUVs they rode in were at. One of them sported a horse trailer in which Cavalry had been transported in. They looked left and right for a way past all of the people, but no such luck.

They gazed longingly at their vehicles once more._ So close, and yet so far..._

**(Spencer Reid!)**

It took long enough before they were finally able to drive away. By nightfall they arrived at the police station so they could wrap things up before they headed home.

And Hotch knew this wasn't going to go over well.

"What do we do with Cavalry?"Morgan asked with uncertainty.

"We're taking him with us, aren't we?" Reid asked.

"I'm not sure, but I hope so." Emily said.

Elsewhere, Hotch was in a conversation with the sheriff. Him and his team were thanked more than plenty of times for their help. The local PD had been trying to nail Walter for a long time, but the BAU managed to do so in a matter of days.

"Again, I simply cannot thank you all enough." Muxen shook hands with the Unit Chief. "But I should also thank that horse your guys found. If it weren't for him, we'd all still probably be working on this case."

"I know." Hotch agreed. He had already figured that the animal would be very helpful, and he was. They all owed Cavalry their gratitude. He only wished they could take-

"Hey, Hotch?" Spencer suddenly popped up.

"Well, it's late." Muxen spoke. "I'll leave you and your agent to talk, I'll be getting ready to head home." He walked off.

"Yes, Reid?" Aaron turned to the younger man.

"Um," He began to twiddle his fingers nervously. "We are taking Cavalry back to DC with us, right?"

"Reid, that's something I wanted to speak to you about." Hotch sighed. He knew this was coming, and now he couldn't avoid it. He hated being the bad guy, but it wasn't quite up to him. He also knew that this would greatly upset the team's youngest, and he wished that there was some other way...

"I'll need you to say goodbye to Cavalry."

Spencer froze from where he stood. The rest of the team noticed the mini fiasco and turned to listen.

"Goodbye? W-what do you mean? I-I thought we were taking him with us?"

"You don't even have a place to keep him."

"But I could find one, and I thought he could come with us on cases to help."

"Reid, hear me out, please." The BAU leader said. "You know that Strauss would never allow that, and she's already deemed the team as 'reckless', and who knows what those with more authority than her would say. If it were completely up to me, I would say 'yes', but that's not the case. I'm sorry."

Spencer started to sniffle, he wasn't angry with his boss, for he knew he was right. Regarding Strauss, only over her dead body would she let Cavalry be a part of the team. Plus, the BAU doesn't even use horses, or any kind of animals for that matter, but Cavalry was more than just a horse, he was practically human.

"Spence?" JJ asked softly. The young profiler quickly headed out the door, stating that he was going to go for a walk. Prentiss soon followed him outside, there stood Cavalry at the bottom of the steps. The horse nickered curiously at Reid's sadness, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that something happened.

"Cavalry," Spencer began, trying hard to find his voice through his tears. "We can't keep you."

The animal's eyes widened. How could this be? He thought... One look in the young man's eyes said everything. He exhaled, he hadn't planned on this, but it seemed they had no choice. Morgan and JJ soon appeared. A somber goodbye from each of them before the horse turned, hung his head and slowly walked off into the dark night.

Reid stared at the ground, fresh tears poured onto the pavement. Derek rubbed his back soothingly, it helped a little.

"I'm sorry, Spence." JJ hugged him briefly before she retreated back into the building.

"I had told Garcia all about Cavalry, she was so excited to meet him too." Morgan said disappointingly. He soon followed JJ's tracks back inside."

Spencer took a deep breath before he began to take a few steps forward.

"Reid, would you like me to walk with you?" Emily asked. He turned to her and smiled weakly.

"I'd like that." Together, the two FBI agents headed down a lit area of the road, although Cavalry was still fresh on their minds. Sometimes Prentiss wanted to simply punch Strauss in the face. The Section Chief dared to use her at one point to get Hotch fired, however, it didn't work.

As they continued their walk, neither of them were aware of not one, not two, but four pairs of eyes watching them from a distance.

**To be continued...**


	9. Unpleasant Surprises

**Thank you for reviewing, though I've said that a lot already. :P**

**Yeah, I kind of left a cliffhanger, didn't I? I hope you don't hate me for that. :P**

Reid sniffled again, Prentiss wondered if it was from the cool air of the night, despite it being in the Summer, or if he was on the verge of crying again. No matter, she'd be there to comfort him when need be. At least she was fairly good at hiding her emotions though, but Spencer was younger than the rest of the team, and he didn't have that great of a childhood either, hell, none of them did really. However, one could say that those badder times made them who they are today.

And who knows what Cavalry went through while in the hands of Walter Walker.

She sighed before brushing some hair off her face. She didn't blame Hotch for his decision, it's not like he had much of a choice to begin with, no thanks to Strauss and all, but he could have at least tried something. Emily shook her head, it's too late now anyway, Cavalry is gone, her colleague is heartbroken, and honestly, she was and probably the rest of the team too.

A light breeze caused Reid to noticeably shiver, even though it wasn't that cold outside. She hoped the young man wasn't getting sick. Soon, she began to feel uneasy herself, like something was off. She swallowed a small lump in her throat, maybe now would be a good time to turn back.

"Reid?" She asked hesitantly. "I'm thinking that perhaps we should-"

_Whack._

She didn't even here any approaching footsteps before her head filled with sudden pain. Prentiss fell to the ground, unable to use her hands to break her fall in time, her head collided with the pavement, stars danced around her eyes. She groaned, trying hard to stay conscious.

"Emily- Mmf!" Spencer cried out when a hand covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking. Another arm, a frightfully strong one at that, wrapped around his torso and pinned his arms to his sides. He thrashed around with as much strength as he could muster, but it barely helped. Someone then came in front of him and gripped his ankles, he appeared to be a young adult. Reid's eyes widened when he saw his friend lying on the ground, blood trickling out from her head. He couldn't get to her to see if she was alright, he became even more scared when he felt his gun being removed from it's holster. Another youngish man, who had pocketed his weapon carried a rope, holding it out as he came closer.

Everything became a blur to Prentiss, she got on her hands and attempted to push herself up, and she knew if she didn't get help soon, the blood loss would surely knock her out. Her vision slowly came into focus and she could see four people holding onto Reid, trying to wrap him up in rope. She reached behind her and retrieved her firearm.

"Federal agent!" She shouted, catching their attention. The one holding Reid's gun pointed it back at her.

"Drop it!" He shouted before changing his aim toward the young doctor beside him. "Or I'll shoot your friend!"

Emily bit her lip. It was a tough choice, as she didn't know if he would still harm one or both of them if she complied. But if she didn't, she'd be endangering Spencer, as if he hadn't had a bad enough evening as it is.

Finally, she obeyed and carefully sat her weapon on the ground, then held her hands up in surrender. Another of the men, who had finished tying up Reid came over and snatched her gun.

"What do you want from us?" She asked calmly.

"I think we already got it." One of them said, looking at Spencer, who was still trying to get free from his bindings. This caused Emily's eyes to widen in fear. What did they want with Reid, better yet, who were they?

"Who are you?" She repeated her thoughts.

"That's none of your business." The first one spat. The dark haired woman didn't have a chance to react when she started to feel dizzy, likely from how much blood she's lost already.

_Shit. _She thought, and she knew she couldn't count on any of these potential unsubs to help her. Instead however, one snuck over and punched her, sending her to the ground, and out of consciousness. Reid called out to her, but it only came out in muffled screams.

"Shut up." One of the men growled. "Let's get him to the truck."

The four carried the bound profiler to a white pickup, they almost carelessly tossed him in the bed, where there happened to be a small motorcycle. They all hurried into the cab and sped away. As they drove, Spencer couldn't help but think of Prentiss, and the facts and statistics about blunt force truama.

_Severe _blunt trauma _has a mortality rate of 30% if traumatic brain injury is involved._

_The most common type of TBI is a concussion._

_Concussions can cause a wide range of symptoms, which can vary from a simple headache to confusion as well as concentration and memory problems._

_Most concussions occur without a loss of consciousness._

He suddenly found himself envisioning his crippled friend on the ground, bleeding and without help...

_Left untreated, a concussion can result in a coma, long term brain damage, paralysis, and even death._

He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to think anymore, he silently prayed that Emily would be okay. He always blamed himself for allowing her to take the beating in the hands of Cyrus, though she always assured him otherwise. This time, it seemed like it really was his fault that she was hurt, and probably going to die. No! Don't think like that! Then again, had he not decided to go for a walk, she wouldn't have been with him, and they both wouldn't be in their current situations.

"_Please be okay." _He thought while fearing that the outcome would be tragic unless they ever make it home alive.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Cavalry walked along the road, wondering where he should live. Somewhere in or by the woods was out of the question, there he would have to put up with predators, not that they would be too much trouble thanks to his intelligence, or maybe up in the mountains, at least there he'd be away from humans. Those people with the FBI were the first to acknowledge his abilities in a really long time, and for that he was thankful. He already missed Spencer, and he wondered if he missed him as well.

He could hear an approaching vehicle, along with music blasting. He quickly got off of the roadside and into some bushes, there he would wait for it to pass. Drunk drivers weren't too uncommon around here. He watched as a white truck zoomed by, most definitely above the speed limit. No matter to him though, if they want to either get in a wreck and die or get a ticket or wind up in jail, that's their problem, not his. Obviously they were intoxicated, once they passed him, he could make out scent of alcohol above the car exhaust..

He looked back from where the pickup came from, which happened to be back towards the police station. He then gazed to where the car disappeared, it sure looked awfully dark, there were no streetlights. The sight made him nervous, not that he had to worry about serial murders or rapists, considering his species, he had the sudden urge to turn back and go the other way, which headed toward town, there would be humans, but at least he'd find lights. After deciding to do just that, he wondered if he should have tried to see the license plate on that truck, since he was heading back in the direction where the station was, he could have given them the number of that vehicle. Even though he couldn't go home with the FBI agents, it still would be nice of him to try and help the officers out.

Eventually, he was back in a more lit area. The orange lights shined upon the pavement and sidewalk. He could see the PD off in the distance, and he wondered if Spencer was still there. Probably not, in fact, he might as well start forgetting about them, it's not like he would ever meet them again.

And he never realized before how he thinks too soon.

His sensitive ears picked up the sound of a cell phone ringing, he then saw a figure lying in the fetal position on the road, and the smell of mostly fresh blood assaulted his nostrils. He pointed his ears back in a show of disgust at the scent, but he could still sense life in the person, they were still alive.

Cavalry hurried over and saw more blood on the road around the person's head, they appeared to be a woman, long, straight dark hair... Wait a second, it's Emily!

The horse neighed, hoping to get a response out of her, but got none. It looked like she must be unconscious. He nudged her head with his, still nothing. He began to panic, knowing that she would certainly die soon without medical attention. What puzzled the horse was why she was out here by herself, where was Spencer and the rest of the team? Speaking of Spencer, he instantly recognized the young genius' own scent, even though he was nowhere to be seen. While Cavalry wasn't any dog, he still had a decent sense of smell, and it was definitely proving useful. He could smell the scent of four other humans, none of which he could recall, along with a hint of alcohol.

Alcohol? Oh God...

It didn't take long for the animal to put the pieces together, whoever was in that speeding truck had Spencer, and they are likely responsible Emily's injuries too. He still didn't have a way to get her help, or did he? He bent his head down by the edge of her pants where her badge was settled, though blood had managed to reach it, he carefully picked up the item in his mouth, ignoring the metallic taste and ensuring that he had a good grip before taking off in a gallop. He didn't really want to leave her alone, but this was a matter of life or death, and who knows what Spencer is going through.

The sound of his hooves clopping against the road filled the air as the police station came closer and closer.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Hotch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt awful, he hated seeing his agents upset like that, especially young, innocent Reid. He really wanted to say "screw Strauss" and allow Spencer to do whatever he pleased with the horse. Aaron had no doubt that Cavalry would indeed be more than capable of helping them on cases, he just wished he could've said 'yes' to taking Cavalry with them.

"How are you holding up?" Rossi's distinctive voice spoke up.

"How do you think?" Hotch replied miserably.

"Unfortunately, I don't think Reid will get over this for a while." The older man pointed out.

"I know." The BAU leader grumbled. "I wish there was something else I could have done or said."

"Maybe there is." Dave pondered.

"How so?"

"I'll tell you this much, Aaron." The Senior SSA began. "Throughout my years working at the bureau, I made quite a few friends, some who you would say are 'higher up' than Strauss, and not only that, but they are close with the director of the FBI too, and I'm positive that if I asked, they could make something work for, well, you know."

"I don't know Dave..." Hotch said with uncertainty. "Do you suppose Strauss would try and fight it?"

"That I can't be sure about, but on the other hand, at least Reid would be happy, Cavalry too, and the rest of the team for that matter. I must admit that I was beginning to like the horse as well."

"I suppose you're right." He gazed at the floor.

"It's worth a shot anyway." Rossi shrugged.

The Unit Chief smiled faintly. He couldn't help but wonder if that 'walk' Reid took was actually to be with Cavalry longer, if that was the case, then he would have a chance to make things right with the two. He glanced up at a clock on the wall, seeing that 40 minutes had already passed since their youngest left, and while he knew that he was accompanied by Prentiss, they've been gone for longer than they should have been. And if they were with Cavalry, he wouldn't worry a whole lot, but he didn't know for certain. He decided to call their cell phones, hoping for an answer, unfortunately, he got what he didn't want to hear; voicemails.

"Hello, you've reached Dr. Spencer Reid of the Behavioral Analysis Unit..."

"Hi, you've reached SSA Emily Prentiss of the BAU..."

Dave noticed that Hotch was becoming anxious after he removed his phone from his ear. "What's the matter, Aaron?"

"Prentiss and Reid aren't answering their phones, and they've been gone for close to an hour." The younger man explained.

"Maybe they're just taking their time with the horse?" The veteran profiler suggested.

"40 minutes?" Hotch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That wouldn't surprise me too much with Reid, but when I think about Prentiss... something does feel odd."

_Way to point out the obvious. _Aaron thought, but didn't say. He realized that now would be a good time to inform Reid and Cavalry of the new plan, if they were still outside, which he hoped they were. A sudden neighing was heard, which at first made Hotch relieved, knowing that he wasn't too late and that Cavalry and his agents had been outside the whole time. He walked quickly to the doors, through the window he could already see the horse standing at the base of the steps, he exited the building and noticed that neither Spencer nor Emily were in sight. Deciding that there was only one thing to do, he came up to the beast and asked: "Cavalry, where is Prentiss and Reid?"

His question was short lived when he was showed a blood covered object. Hotch carefully accepted it and soon found out that it was Emily's badge. He didn't notice that his own breathing had become just a tad more rapid. Normally he could keep a straight face about things like this, but it was just unexpected. They solved the case, and now an FBI agent was in danger, possibly two, wherever Reid was that is.

Cavalry stepped back and gestured his head back to the street he came from, Aaron got the message quickly and rushed inside to inform the rest the others. Soon the rest of the team emerged with a few officers alongside. They all hurried into some vehicles while Cavalry started toward and down the road, the two Suburbans and police cruisers matched the horse's speed. A couple minutes felt like a couple hours until they could make out a body on the pavement, who they assumed was Prentiss. Morgan, driving the second SUV, swerved around Cavalry and sped past him so that he would reach his fallen friend sooner. The dark skinned agent hopped out and immediately checked for a pulse. He found one, it was rather weak.

"Call an ambulance!" He shouted, one of the officers was already on the phone with a dispatcher. Derek turned back to Emily, she didn't feel very warm, and there was a lot of blood loss. "Come on, Prentiss, stay with us!"

"Morgan, she's unconscious." JJ said. He stopped, once realization sank in. Hotch watched as the situation unfolded, Derek proceeded to prevent Emily from losing anymore blood, now he really felt terrible. He is the leader of his team, he should be protecting his agents, though this is not the first time they've been in danger, it didn't make him feel any better.

He felt as if he failed his team, especially since he could've prevented this from happening, had he only said otherwise about taking Cavalry with them... This was all his fault.

**To be continued...**

**I hope you don't hate me too much about the cliffhanger but hey, at least there wasn't one this time! :P**

**I must point out that I'm not quite satisfied with how this chapter came out, but hopefully you'll think of it better than I did.**

**And what might our dear Dr. Reid be going through...?**


	10. Saving Spencer Reid

**Thank you for the reviews!**

Hotch had become unusually silent, and the others took notice. The Unit Chief was exasperated to say the least, the fact that two of his agents were in danger, one still is, without him even knowing about it was taking a toll on him, since this is basically his fault in the first place. The ambulance arrived, Prentiss was carefully loaded on a gurney and put inside the vehicle as paramedics began to check over her. At least she was in good hands, but that didn't change the fact that Reid still wasn't, wherever he even is. Hotch knew that Emily would've likely been able to provide information that could hopefully help them find their youngest, but she had yet to gain consciousness, JJ rode with her to the hospital just in case.

This left them with one other option, Cavalry. That is if even he knew what happened to Reid, but they had nothing to lose by asking. Aaron turned to face the horse, he caught the action and did the same. He nickered curiously when Hotch cleared his throat.

"Cavalry, by chance would you happen to know what may have happened to Agent Reid, and where he might be?" He asked. The brown haired beast nodded in response, but exactly how was he supposed to explain it? He couldn't speak, and body language would probably take forever to go through. Morgan suddenly got an idea, he ran up to one of the officers.

"Do you have any paper and a pen?" The dark skinned agent asked.

"Huh? What for?" The confused officer asked.

"I just need some, please." Derek pleaded. The officer retrieved a pen and some blank tickets, which was the best he could provide. "Thank you." Morgan said before returning to his boss.

"Morgan, what's this for?" Hotch asked, gesturing to the items in his hand.

"The only way Cavalry can talk to us." He explained. Aaron cocked an eyebrow at the statement, after all, he was the only one who has yet to see Cavalry's full potential.

"Here Cavalry." Derek said, ripping a blank ticket and placing it on the hood of one of the SUVs, holding out the pen the officer gave him for the animal to grab. The horse held the writing tool between his jaws, then approached the front of the vehicle while Morgan held a couple fingers over the paper to keep it from sliding.

"Okay, tell us you can." Nodding, Cavalry held the pen over the paper, applying the end to it, he maneuvered his head around, slowly forming letters that eventually became words. It was a difficult task, the paper wasn't very big, he was more adapted to the drawing board and marker he first used to talk to Spencer and Emily with, but they were still back at Walter's place. He had to do this though, it was for Spencer, wherever he may be.

By the time Cavalry finished, Morgan held up the note, Rossi gazed over his shoulder and slowly but surely reading out the capital lettering.

"4 people, smelled like alcohol?" The Sneior SSA repeated questioningly. "White truck going fast, to the east." When he finished, Morgan whipped out his phone and dialed Garcia's number.

"What can I do for you my lovelies? Are you guys on your way home yet? Is Cavalry with you?" The familiar technical analyst's cheerful voice came from the device's speaker."

Morgan rubbed the back of his neck. "Not exactly, Baby Girl."

"What's wrong, Derek?" Penelope's happy voice transformed to a more concerned tone.

"From what we know, four people attacked Reid and Prentiss, Emily's on her way to the hospital, JJ rode with her, and Reid- Well, he's been kidnapped."

"What?" Garcia gasped. "Do you know where he is? Who took him?" What can I do to help?"

"Whoa, slow down, Garcia. I need you to look up white pickup trucks in this area."

"I can do that... but you have no idea how many of those are in that location alone. If you could give some more specifics?"

"Cavalry, you didn't happen to get the model or license plate number, did you?" Dave asked. The horse shook his head sadly.

Morgan groaned. "Sorry Penny, but that's all we got."

Cavalry sudden perked up, he retrieved the pen again and resumed scribbling, Derek told Garcia "Hold on." when he noticed the animal. Cavalry got done and Morgan peeked at the note again. "Search within a 20 mile radius."

"Are you sure?" He asked the beast, whom nodded ferociously. "Okay Garcia, try this; search for white pickups within a 20 mile radius from where we are now."

"That makes it so much easier." The blonde breathed, relieved as she began to type away. "Okay, I found 8, however, only one of them is currently in motion. It appears to be heading toward a wooded area not super far from you guys, even though it's going rather fast."

"You know that I love you, right Penelope?" Morgan grinned slightly.

"Of course you do." She smiled back. "Now go, get my baby back home safe!" After she gave them the current address, the call ended and Hotch prepared to give orders. One officer proceeded to call in Sheriff Muxen, others got ready to follow the agents to where they needed to go.

"Cavalry, wait for us back at the station." Hotch said. The animal flattened his ears at the order, he wanted to come along and help, even though he had no way to. He nodded and began to journey back to the building. The profilers hopped in their Suburbans and sped down the road, police cruisers not far behind.

Cavalry watched as they disappeared down the road. He never got around much since he became Walter's 'pet', but he did know a few things about the area. The route the FBI agents went down is a very winding, twisty-like road. Even at the speed they were traveling, it would take them a while to catch up to the people that took Spencer, which would give them more time to do whatever they please with him. After recalling the address that that woman known as Garcia had said, he also knew that from his current spot, the quickest way to that location was not by the road, but on foot, through the woods. For him anyway, since he was horse who could travel fast. He could reach Spencer before the agents, he could still help after all!

Aware that Hotchner had told him to stay at the station, he started in a gallop off the pavement and on the grass, through some trees. He hoped that Spencer was still okay, and that he would get to him soon enough before something horrible happened.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Reid noticed the truck had slowed down and eventually came to a spot on the road. Whoever these people were, they didn't even bother to park their vehicle on the side. This worried him some, perhaps this road was rarely used; if ever at all, and nobody would drive by to see him. He heard the doors open and slam shut. He was sweating, failing to hide his growing fear, considering how much older he was than these men. Being taller didn't really change much either, not to mention he was outnumbered four to one, he still didn't quite know what they wanted him for.

The strongest of the young men opened the tailgate and grabbed his ankles, pulling him off the bed. Spencer gasped when he realized he wasn't going to be eased to the ground. Just as he slid off the bed, he instinctively held his head up, so his shoulders would hit the pavement first and break the fall, he didn't need to wind up like Emily did, if she's even still okay.

"You idiot!" One of the boys hissed. "We need him _alive._"

"Jeez, sorry, man."

The apology was ignored. The young man went and pulled out a can of red paint from the truck cab, while the other two worked to get the motorcycle off of the vehicle. Although he wasn't too sure of his assumption, Reid began to sweat, he swallowed heavily when the strongest boy dragged him to the middle of the road.

"What are you doing?" He asked, not expecting an answer.

"Getting prepared." The first one said.

Reid hesitated. "I don't even know your names?"

The first one sighed. "Well, it's not like you're going to live long enough to tell anyone anyway. My name is Anthony. Happy?" Reid knew he heard that name before, but are they really...?

"Adam." The second spoke.

"Tim." Said the third.

"Conrad." Grunted the strongest one, still holding onto his ankles, not that he was able to move much in the first place, thanks to the ropes that were wrapped around him.

Wait. "You're Walter Walker's sons?"

"You got that right." Anthony sneered. "And that's why we took you here. You put our daddy in jail, and this is our way of 'thanking' you." He grinned evilly, one that sent shivers down the young doctor's spine. He handed Adam the now open paint can and an old brush. Adam proceeded to dip the brush onto the red liquid.

"What are you doing with that?" Spencer asked, trying not to sound fearful.

Adam said nothing, instead he took the paint covered brush and sat the bristles down on the pavement on Reid's left side, then he dragged it over his neck and onto the pavement on the other side. "That should make it easy for you Tim!" He shouted over to where Tim was attempting to start up the motorcycle. Spencer's eyes widened.

"You don't have to do this." He pleaded softly, not that it would change their minds.

"We can, and we will." Anthony smirked. His hair was greasy and his face was covered with pimples and zits. It made Reid cringe at the thought of what his hair might feel like. The rumble of the motorcycle's engine was heard, he shot over and saw Tim hopping onto the seat. He didn't notice his breathing had become dangerously rapid.

"Not yet, Tim!" Anthony shouted.

"Why not?" Tim shouted back, impatiently.

"Just gotta do something first." He grumbled, pulling out a cell phone. He went to the camcorder, then faced it at Reid. "Want to make sure his friends at the FBI get to see this." He grinned.

"How are you even doing that?" Adam asked.

"I had a friend find the number to one of the people that does computer stuff over there. Then I had him rig my phone's camera so we can stream the footage for them to see."

People that does computer... "Garcia?" Spencer mouthed. But what are the chances that they got her number and not one that belonged to someone else?

Without thinking, he shut his eyes and quietly prayed.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Penelope bit her nails nervously. It's been a while and she hasn't heard anything from the others. Were they okay? Was Spencer okay? Was he dead and they were delaying on telling her? No, they wouldn't do that, would they? No, of course not! Right? Undesirable scenarios ran through her head, which didn't help in the slightest. She also wondered the same for Prentiss, she only knew that she had taken a beating that required hospital care, and that JJ was with her, but no calls from the media liaison either.

Garcia was tempted to just call them instead, but also didn't want to possibly interrupt anything important. But this was her family, she should know how they're doing. Snatching the phone, one finger barely brushed a button when one of her screen's suddenly changed.

"What the...?" Was she being hacked? It appeared to be some type of recording. All she could see thus far were trees and the dark night. A streetlight provided some insight, but it seemed mostly like a wooded area, kind of like the one she had sent her team to.

Rather than try to rid of the screen, she watched, a little afraid to see what might come. Soon enough though, a young man, with notably poor hygiene appeared.

"Hello, people of the FBI." The one on the screen said in a voice that frightened Penelope dearly. "I hope you're ready to say goodbye to one of your own." He smirked, the camera then pointed at Reid, wrapped up in rope. The first thing the blonde noticed though was the red liquid on his neck, her mouth hung open in shock. Was he dead, or maybe his throat slashed? Oh God... Wait, those are Walter's kids.

"If you're thinking that his throat is cut, guess again." The young man holding the camera spoke. "There's something much better in store for him." Garcia watched as another man on a motorcycle came into view. She gasped in horror as she realized what they were going to do.

Realizing she still had the phone in her hand, she immediately dialed a number. The other line barely rang when the recipient picked up.

"Yeah, Garcia?" Morgan answered.

"Morgan, this footage of Reid tied up on the road with these sickos, who I believe are Walter Walker's kids, about to drive over him with a motorcycle appeared on my screen just a minute ago."

"What? His kids are in on this? Is it a live feed?"

"I-I think so."

"Are you tracking it?"

"Oh! No, but I will right now." She began to type away on her keyboard at a speed that would put a world champion cell phone texter to shame. When she finished, she crossed her fingers, begging for the computer to move faster. The monitor beeped, indicating it had finished. "They are on the road you guys are currently on, just 7 miles away."

"7 miles?" Rossi asked from the passenger seat. "We won't make it there in time."

"We can sure try." Morgan said determinedly, pressing further on the gas pedal while gripping the steering wheel tighter. Hotch, driving the second SUV along with the police cruisers behind them followed suit.

"Hang on kid, we're coming."

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"Dude, should you be showing off your face like that?" Adam stared at his older brother.

"Who cares?" Anthony shrugged. "Once we take care of this agent, the four of us will head out somewhere, maybe down to Mexico."

"Alright." The younger man said skeptically.

"Yo! We gonna get this show on the road or what?" Tim shouted from several meters away.

"You bet, bro!" Anthony stepped back, phone in hand. Adam and Conrad also stepped back away from a bound Spencer and out of the camera shot.

"We're ready when you are Tim!" With that, the boy revved the engine several times. Reid felt his eyes get warm while he tried his best to struggle free from the ropes. They merely strained in protest at his efforts, but didn't loosen one bit. Surely his team were on their way. They would get here in time to save him.

Garcia held a hand over her mouth, as much as she wanted to turn away from the screen and flee out of the room, she couldn't. It was as if she was glued in this position.

The motorcycle's engine soon became very loud, as it would when someone lays down on the gas. Spencer turned away and shut his eyes. He never got to say goodbye to his mother, or his team.

Tim held onto the handle, making a beeline toward the restrained agent on the ground, mostly aimed at the red line his brother conveniently painted. Conrad and Adam watched as he came closer, Anthony smiled wickedly as he held up camera at an angle that showed both Reid and his approaching doom. Spencer held his eyes shut even tighter as he quietly sobbed.

Everything felt like a blur. Tim didn't notice a large mass of brown jump in front of him until it was too late. He collided right into it, sending him, the motorcycle, and the suddenly appeared obstruction to the pavement, rolling along the ground, Tim moving the farthest before he came to a stop, landing on an awkward position on his head and neck.

All of those present, including Reid, cringed at the sounds of bones, flesh and metal crashing together and scraping around. When it was all over, The three remaining boys rushed to their fallen brother.

"Tim? Tim! Get up! Come on, get up!" They urged, but no response came from the young man. They were aware of blood all around, a frightful amount of it at that. Anthony, expression now fuming, turned to the apparent cause of the accident. A horse?

"What the hell?" He said. It seemed that the animal also had a lot of blood around, especially from the large gash on it's side. It lacked any signs that it was owned by anyone, meaning that it must have either been a stray, or it got out of it's pen somewhere.

While staring at her computer, Penelope was at a loss of words. What just happened? First that one son of a bitch was about to run over her Junior G-Man, the next, there's sounds of crashing and shouting, but the camera had been dropped, so she couldn't see anything.

Once Reid gained back his vision, he looked over to where the three boys were still looking over Tim, however, that wasn't what caught his attention, it was morely what saved his life. It was big, and brown colored, not counting the crimson red he was also able to make out.

"Cavalry?" He whispered. Unfortunately, neither Cavalry nor Tim appeared to be moving, or breathing for that matter, and there was a lot of blood from both of them.

Soon, sirens could be heard in the distance.

**To be continued...**

**What do you think so far? Am I doing a good job for my first semi-casefic, as well as my first OC story?**


	11. Fingers Crossed

**Thank you for reviewing.**

The three young men continued to look over their presumed dead brother, a moment of triumph shattered in seconds. Adam had checked for a pulse and found none, Conrad wiped a stray tear, Anthony showed little emotion. Reid was just a little surprised, one moment they're all eager to kill him, the next they're all grieving over their loss, while that was considerably natural, it's just that he almost lost his life because of them at one point before this. However, Spencer felt that he'd be mourning a loss himself, while he honestly did feel bad for Tim, he wondered if Cavalry was even off any better, that is, until he saw the animal's ear flick.

He released his breath he didn't realize he was holding. Of course, it wouldn't take a genius to know that a dead horse doesn't move it's ears. The horse rose it's head a couple inches, before resting it back down on the pavement. Even though Cavalry was still alive, would he survive his injuries? His mind then fell onto Prentiss, he didn't know if she was even okay.

The sirens were getting louder. "Guys." Anthony said. "We need to split, now."

"We can't just leave Tim here like that!" Adam exclaimed.

"Why? He's already dead." He argued. "Do you want to go to jail? 'Cause I sure don't."

"They're getting closer." Conrad pointed out.

"I know that, dumbass!"

"Who you calling a dumbass?"

The three boys broke into argument. Reid made another attempt to get free from his bindings, but with no avail. He noticed Cavalry raise his head again, this time, the horse managed to keep it up. Groaning, the animal struggled to it's feet, it took a lot of strength, but he managed. Spencer smiled when he turned to look at him, the beast then walked over and gently nuzzled the young doctor's face. Cavalry gazed around his body, focusing on the ropes as he nickered curiously. Without warning, the horse opened his jaws and gripped the rope, being careful not to accidentally hurt Reid, he pulled and growled at the stubborn restraints that bound his friend. Finally, after biting down hard enough, they broke free. Spencer sighed in relief as he rubbed his left arm.

Red and blue began to flash around the area, getting brighter and louder by the second. Reid and Cavalry looked over and saw the approaching vehicles come to a screeching halt. They heard the boys curse out loud as they made a break for it.

"FBI, stop!" Hotch shouted after hopping out of his Suburban, raising his weapon. After hearing this, the three split up in different directions. Cavalry then got an idea. He turned toward where Conrad had fled to and broke into a gallop, He zoomed past the agents, surprising them only for a moment before they got over their shock. With his jaws open and neck stretched out, the brown haired animal managed to grab the shoulder area of the man's shirt and then knock him to the ground, resulting in him emitting a grunt upon impact. Rossi was the first to come over, he quicky handcuffed Conrad. Cavalry smiled at his handiwork, but he wasn't done yet, Adam ran to the truck they had driven, he was in the driver's seat, but wasn't able to shut the door in time before something strong and painful snatched his arm and roughly pulled him out. The boy cried out in pain before he landed on the pavement. Cavalry glared down at him just as Hotch came over to get him. Two down, one to go.

Anthony had ran into the woods, hoping to lose the agents, although he didn't bother to see if his brothers were behind him or not.

Cavalry clenched his teeth in anger. _Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it. _With a nicker of determination, he rushed off to where the young man disappeared into. Anthony looked back and saw the horse approaching fast, he tried to double his efforts, but he knew very well that he couldn't outrun the beast. Soon enough, Cavalry grabbed onto the back of his shirt and began walking backwards, dragging him along. Anthony started yelling, trying pull free, hit and kick whatever he could.

"Let go, you stupid horse! Get off of me!" He shouted. The animal couldn't help but shake his head. In the clearing, Morgan waited until Cavalry emerged with Anthony in his possession. The dark skinned agent then eagerly threw the young man to the ground and slapped handcuffs on him. Then, he none too gently pulled him to his feet and forcibly pushed him to one of the police cars.

Cavalry looked around the area, Adam and Conrad were already seated in the back of a cruiser, an officer was checking over Tim, he held two fingers on the side of his neck, a few seconds later, he looked up at Rossi and shook his head. An ambulance had arrived, paramedics started checking over Spencer.

Spencer! Cavalry rushed over to the back of the large vehicle where the young man was sitting, he neighed ecstatically. Reid looked up, a big smile on his face, he got up and hurried over to the horse. Now face to face, Spencer wrapped his arms around the animal's neck, burying his face within. Cavalry returned the hug, using his head to rub against the young doctor's back.

"Thank you for saving me." He whispered, receiving a soft nicker in response. A couple meters away, Morgan tapped Dave on the shoulder, pointing at something. Dave followed his finger and saw what he was trying to show. He grinned at the sight before them.

"Isn't that cute?" Rossi spoke. Morgan then frowned and looked behind him, Sheriff Muxen had came after an officer had called him, Hotch was too busy talking with him to notice the adorable thing happening. Quickly, he whipped out his phone and took a couple pictures.

"Garcia's gonna love this." He smirked.

"Emily too I'm sure." Rossi commented.

Derek's smirk was replaced by a look of concern. "Speaking of her, I wonder how she's doing. JJ hasn't called yet."

"They also don't know that we got Reid back." The veteran profiler pointed out.

"Oh, right." The younger man blushed a little before dialing JJ's number.

Spencer broke up the hug and looked over at Cavalry's left side, the large, bloody gash from the motorcycle was still there, if it wasn't treated soon, it could get infected.

"Cavalry, you should been seen by a vet for that wound." Reid said. The horse flattened his ears at the thought, but at the same time, knew Spencer was right.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

JJ continued to stare at Prentiss who was now on a hospital bed in a room., she was still out cold, though the doctor said she should awaken soon. She jumped when her cell phone rang, she picked it up and looked at the caller ID; It was Morgan.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"JJ, we got Reid back, he's okay." Derek responded. The media liaison sighed with relief. Her Spence was alive. "We also got the son of a bitches too, minus one though, he was dead when we got here."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say that thanks to Cavalry, Reid is fine at least." She noted the lack of sympathy in his voice.

"How's Prentiss doing?" He asked.

"She's still out of it." JJ admitted.

"Mm. Well, call us back and let us know when she awakens."

"Of course."

Just as she ended the call, a moan came from the bed. JJ looked over and saw Emily stir a little and her eyes slowly open.

"Hey," She smiled. "You're finally awake, sleepyhead."

"Haha, funny." The dark haired woman said sarcastically. She lifted her head some and examined herself, she was covered in bandages. The movement caused a sharp pain to shoot through her head, she hissed and applied a hand to her forehead and laid back down.

"Seriously though, how are you doing?" JJ asked.

"if you couldn't already tell, I have a severe headache." Prentiss closed her eyes a sighed. She reopened them a minute later and looked over at her friend with concern. "Where's Reid?"

JJ smiled reassuringly. "They got him back, he's okay." Emily nodded and collapsed back on her pillow.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"Hotch, could I talk to you for a minute?" Derek asked, walking up to the Unit Chief.

"Sure, Morgan. What do you need?"

"It's about Cavalry."

Aaron paused. "Morgan-"

"Look man," The younger profiler cut off. "I know it seems crazy, but Cavalry needs to come with us. I'm not just saying this because he would be helpful out in the field, but look at Reid." He then pointed at their young friend, who was watching a paramedic doing his best to bandage the horse's wound. "The kid loves him, we all do, I know that you would too if you gave him a chance."

"Morgan, let me explain."

"No, Hotch, you need to hear _us _out," He interrupted. "To hell with Strauss! So what if she doesn't like it? It's not like she does half the stuff we do on a daily basis. Who gives a shit what she thinks? She doesn't care about any of us, only herself-"

"Morgan!" Hotch snapped, effectively getting his attention. "Not that I don't agree with your opinions on Strauss, I've been trying to say is that I changed my mind, I'm letting Cavalry come with us."

"...What?"

"I talked to Rossi earlier back at the station, he said he has friends who are 'higher ups' that could likely help us out."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

"Erm," Derek looked a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, sorry about just a minute ago."

"it's fine, I understand."

"Have you told Reid yet?"

"No." Hotch replied. "But I'm going to right now."

"Good," Morgan said. "Because, I'd hate to see him heartbroken again." He lifted his phone and showed his boss the picture he'd taken of the young genius and the animal hugging. Aaron took a moment to look at it before he nodded.

"Thanks." He head off toward where the youngest of his team was standing. Spencer looked over and gulped, feeling a little uneasy around his leader. Dancing nervously on his feet, he sent his gaze to the pavement.

"Reid, I have something tell you." Hotch spoke.

"Yes, Hotch, I-I know, can- could I just have a 5 minutes with him please?"

"And to think I was going to tell you that Cavalry was coming with us, only for you to tell me that you only want 5 minutes with him?" The BAU leader joked, a rare smirk was visible on his lips.

Spencer looked back at Hotch as if he'd grown as second head. "Wait, you mean-"

"Yes." He said, not waiting for the younger man to finish.

"He can actually-"

"Of course."

"You mean it?"

"Reid, I said 'yes'." Aaron couldn't help but laugh, another show of emotion he rarely did. He noticed tears swell up in Spencer's eyes, he was looking around, hoping to make sure nobody saw them as he also tried to wipe them away. Hotch stood there patiently, that is until Reid threw himself at him and hugged him, he quickly returned it as he felt his shoulder starting to get wet.

"Thank you, Hotch, thank you so much."

The older agent held onto his team member for a moment. "To be honest with you, Reid, it's Rossi you should actually thank."

Spencer sniffled. "Rossi? Why? what did he do?"

"Well, as you would guess, Strauss would blow a head gasket if she knew we had a horse working with us, so Dave is going to see what he can do to change that." Hotch explained.

"He's going to talk to _her?_"

"No, but he told me that he's gained a lot of friends during his career, who are according to him 'higher up' than Strauss."

"I see." Reid nodded.

"So, Cavalry is coming back with us, but should Rossi be unsuccessful, you might need to work something out while we're gone on cases."

"Okay, I will." Spencer twiddled his fingers, he hoped that Dave and these friends of his would prevail, otherwise, he didn't know exactly what he would do if he had to leave the horse alone all the time. Then again, Morgan doesn't ever see his dog Clooney when he's not home, unless he has a dogsitter, maybe Reid would have to look into horse caretakers just in case.

"But, Hotch, you said I didn't have a place to keep Cavalry, and you're right."

Aaron swallowed as he recalled that moment. "I'm sure we could figure something out, Reid."

"I hope so."

**To be continued...**


	12. Case Closed

**You guys are awesome, thank you so much for the reviews and encouraging words, they help keep me going and they mean a lot to me, especially since I'm realizing more and more that casefics are not my thing, and the quality isn't as great as some of my other stories. :P**

**I must admit though that I liked the way this chapter finally came out, most particularly toward the end.**

**I also finally bothered to do a little research on 'hands', the measurement for horses...**

The paramedic did what he could, as he wasn't technically a vet, but he managed to keep Cavalry's wound from bleeding any further, at least for now. The horse would still need to be seen by a professional. A vet would have to be called out to the scene, since the team left the horse trailer behind at the station, though Hotch offered to go back and pick it up while the rest waited.

"Reid, I'm curious," Rossi walked up to the young man and the almost supernaturally intelligent horse. "What breed is Cavalry?"

"Yeah, man, you've never said." Morgan added.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrow as he studied the animal's features. "Judging from the body, I'd say he has some Quarter Horse in him."

Dave eyed Cavalry up and down. "He looks awfully tall to be a Quarter Horse."

"Not just that," Reid pointed out. "I think he also has Thoroughbred in him too. They can reach above 17 hands, which is about where Cavalry appears to be."

"Thoroughbred mixed with Quarter Horse." Rossi mused. "How can you be for certain?"

"To be honest, that was more of a guess." Spencer replied sheepishly.

"And I thought you were genius." Derek teased.

"Just because I'm a genius doesn't mean I know _everything._"

Cavalry emitted a nicker-like chuckle. Spencer is so funny, and Derek is too.

"So, Dave," Reid fidgeted. "I heard you were going to try and see about helping out with Cavalry when we get back."

"I'm going to see what I can do." The Senior SSA confirmed. "Knowing Strauss, it's not going to be easy, I'll tell you that much."

"Right," Spencer nodded. "Thanks Rossi."

"Don't thank me just yet, kid. I'm not giving you any guarantees."

"Of course, but thank you for trying."

"Don't mention it." Dave smiled.

A truck with a canopy pulled up a while later, considering the logo on the side of the doors, they all could tell it was the veterinarian. A younger woman and an older man stepped out, the woman greeted the agents and proceeded to look over Cavalry. The paramedic had managed to do a fairly good job on the horse's wound, but they still applied more proper bandaging and then looked over for anything else that might require attention.

As the two vets were busy, Reid turned to his fellow profilers. "Doesn't somebody need to interrogate Walter's sons?"

Morgan shook his head. "I wouldn't think so. Garcia had the live feed they streamed to her recorded, I'd say a confession isn't even needed with that kind of evidence."

"Let's hope not anyway, because none of us are even there to question them." Rossi said.

Some more time passed, another vehicle was now approaching, a familiar large black SUV with something big and white rolling behind it. Aaron parked and stepped out as the two vets had finished and went back up to the team.

"Although his wound is pretty large, it will heal over time, just make sure he takes it easy until then." The woman spoke.

They all nodded. "Thank you." Dave said.

"Bye." She smiled and waved, which they noticed was mostly directed toward Morgan. Her male companion said nothing, in fact, he hadn't spoken at all since they've been here, his stoic expression nearly rivaled Hotch's. They climbed into their truck and drove away.

Derek's phone rang, he picked it up and saw it was JJ. Already guessing what she was going to say, he put the phone on speaker and answered.

"Yeah, JJ?"

"Prentiss is awake."

"How's she doing?" Reid asked.

"Well, besides a headache, she's doing fine." The blonde replied.

"Good, we'll be on our way shortly." Hotch said. Morgan ended the call and put his phone away. Nearby, Cavalry watched the agents as they headed for the cars.

"Cavalry, you coming?" Spencer called back. The horse nickered and nodded before trotting toward them. The young doctor opened the door to the horse trailer and Cavalry climbed inside before it was relocked. Reid then got into the passenger seat of the Suburban, with Hotch driving. Morgan and Rossi took the second SUV and the Unit Chief followed them to the hospital.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

41 minutes and 57 seconds later, they were up in the state capital, Olympia. Taking the right exit off the freeway, they drove through several intersections, eventually reaching St. Peter's Hospital where Prentiss had been taken to. After they managed to find place to park the two SUVs and the horse trailer, they headed for the building while Cavalry waited outside.

"Jeez, they took her a long way from Centralia." Morgan said.

"Centralia and Olympia aren't really that far apart," Reid quipped. "We just kept hitting all the red lights."

"Whatever, smart ass."

They entered the emergency room entrance and went up to the front desk and asked for Prentiss. The receptionist had a nurse take them to where their colleague was. Before they went through the doors, Reid looked back into the waiting room where a young woman sat, she was noticeably twitching and demanding she be given Dilaudid for some apparent pain she had. He swallowed thickly and hurried after the others.

They arrived in time to see Emily sitting upright on a bed, JJ sitting on a chair next to her.

"Oh, Spence." JJ got up and hugged the young genius, who returned the gesture.. "Glad you're okay."

"What about me?" Prentiss stood up, though she failed to hide a slight smile on her face. Reid walked over and hugged her as well. "Glad you're at least feeling fine." The dark haired woman sighed miserably as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Glad you're at least alive.". Spencer chuckled lightly over her shoulder.

"Hm, thanks." She smirked then broke up the hug and looked over at Hotch with a hopeful expression. "Can we go home yet?"

"Has the doctor cleared you?" The BAU leader asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Emily replied. Aaron sent a glance toward JJ, who silently nodded.

"Let's head home then." Rossi declared. The group walked out of the room and to the doors that lead back out to the waiting room..As they went through the exit, Morgan kept looking at Prentiss, who caught on quickly.

"I'm fine, Derek, really."

Out in the parking lot, Cavalry's ears perked up at the sound of several footsteps, he looked through the window of the trailer and saw the team approaching, Emily was with them. The animal neighed loudly, happy to see she was okay.

Ignoring the pain in her head that worsened from the noise, she forced a smile and waved, meeting the horse's eyes through the window. "Hey Cavalry." She paused before seating herself in the Chevrolet. "Wait, what are we doing with Cavalry again?"

"He's coming with us." Spencer said excitedly after he hopped into the front passenger.

"Oh, he is now?" This was news to Prentiss, but she was pleased with it nonetheless.

As they drove to the airport where their jet awaited, it was then Hotch realized that it wasn't exactly set up to sit a horse anywhere, and to just drive from Washington to Virginia and D.C. would be grueling. But perhaps Reid could think of something, he was a genius after all, though Aaron had tried not to use him for his brain as much as he used to when he first joined the BAU, now seemed like it was necessary if they were planning on taking Cavalry with them.

After a while, they all found themselves on the jet, heading back to D.C. Prentiss felt relieved as she laid down on one of the chairs and closed her eyes for some much wanted sleep. Rossi sat on the table, he was reading an older newspaper article about Cavalry that Spencer had previously read when they first got here, Morgan was also at the table, talking to Garcia on his phone. JJ and Reid were seated on the couch, in front of them lay Cavalry on the floor in the middle of the aisle. If anyone needed to use the bathroom, they would have to mosey around the horse to get there.

Hotch sat alone at the front of the jet, thinking about what's happened so far since they started this case. What seemed like any other typical ones they've dealt with in the past, it was actually quite different to a certain degree, two of his agents had their lives endangered, though Aaron still felt he was partly to blame for that. In addition, in their unsub's possession was arguably the smartest horse in the world, who ultimately helped them solve the case, but how he ended up with someone like Walter Walker rather than in some lab or under the ownership of some rich individual was a mystery, maybe he would have Garcia look into it sometime.

And now, that horse, who has the name "Cavalry", was on his way with the BAU back to D.C. and Quantico. Spencer still needed to find a place to keep him, also, there was still the chance that he may even be coming with them on future cases. Hotch tried to imagine what things would be like having a horse with human intelligence roaming around with them as they chase down criminals. He wasn't much for words, for obvious reasons, so when it came to building profiles, Cavalry wouldn't be of much help, but when he managed to run down and catch all three of Walter's boys when they tried to flee had definitely caught Hotch's attention. Sure, the horse couldn't do much indoors, but when it came to being out in the field, that's where things would really change.

That is, if Cavalry will be able to come along with them on cases. Aaron wouldn't put it past Strauss to try and fight it, as she already has a great dislike for Hotchner's team, adding a horse to the mix would certainly fuel any efforts she would attempt to go against them.

Yes, the FBI and the BAU don't technically use animals, much less horses, but Hotch was willing to admit that Cavalry was different, he really was almost human in a way, the horse loved his team a lot, especially Reid. Seeing his youngest as happy as he was around the beast made getting Cavalry to be eligible to be with them much more worth it.

But Cavalry's fate with the BAU was all dependent on Rossi and his higher connections. Right now, the veteran profiler was now on his phone, most likely speaking with them at the moment. Morgan too was still talking to Garcia, Emily had finally drifted off, Reid was talking about something with JJ, Cavalry appeared to be listening to whatever the young agent was saying.

Hotch leaned back slightly and began to read through some paperwork as the jet flew across the nighttime sky.

**To be continued...**


	13. Settling In

**Thank you for the reviews, as well as the favorites and alerts.**

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'." - Audrey Hepburn.

After the jet arrived, the team descended the ramp Rossi made sure would be ready, since he figured the stairs would be awfully steep and difficult for a horse to go down. Then came the awkward task of planning a place for Cavalry to stay, almost everyone had apartments, not an ideal place to keep a large animal. Dave and Morgan were the only practical exceptions, as they both had houses, Hotch did too, but the BAU leader was dealing with some 'issues' right now, and he was currently staying at an apartment of his own that he had for safe keeping.

It was no surprise to Rossi that Derek suggested he take Cavalry in for time being, as the younger man wasn't quite prepared to house a horse for however long it would take Reid to find a proper place for the beast to live, Dave on the other hand had a good sized yard and a porch that could provide adequate shelter. But, that also gave him the job of getting him food, due to Cavalry's intelligence, Rossi wondered if the animal needed to eat more than just hay and oats, and he wasn't sure, he had Spencer try to determine that, but to be certain, he would need Garcia to look back and find what she can on the animal's past, if she could even.

It was late though, she would probably be in bed by now, so if the horse got hungry, grass would just have to do for the time being. Two SUVs, one of which sported a horse trailer awaited the team. Cavalry boarded the trailer and Dave climbed into the drivers seat, only for Reid to run up to him.

"Hey, Rossi, would it be alright if I came over to your place with you?" He asked while twiddling his fingers.

"Agent Reid, you're not actually thinking that I can't take care of a horse for one night, are you?" The Senior SSA asked honestly.

"Oh, no, not at all! I was just thinking that I'd be more comfortable being near Cavalry on his first night with us."

"Suit yourself." Dave shrugged. Spencer nodded with a quick "Thanks" before hopping into the passenger seat. The engine started and they began to drive off, Reid glanced in the mirror once as he watched JJ help Emily into other SUV, he frowned with concern and wondered if anyone was going to stay with her. As they got on the road, Reid felt a little nervous, it wasn't often that he found himself alone with Rossi, a veteran profiler at that, the older agent noticed his fidgeting and couldn't hold back a slight smirk.

"Reid, we've worked together for quite a while now, you don't have to be shy around me. I don't bite." He chuckled.

"Sorry." Spencer blushed.

"By the way, do you need to stop by your apartment and pick anything up?

"No, I'm good, I still have my go-bag." He replied.

"Alrighty then," Rossi spoke. "We should be at my place no later than half an hour."

Reid nodded silently. He was kind of excited as he's never seen Rossi's place before, he partially assumed he lived in a mansion, or perhaps something close to one. When they pulled down a driveway, Spencer saw that he was sort of right. Not technically a mansion, but it was still a decent sized place, surrounded by trees and there was a nice, evenly cut lawn. A covered porch wrapped around the front and right side of the house, something of this size could house a few people easily. The house was just a plain white color, nothing but simple.

Rossi stopped the vehicle and killed the engine. He and Reid both got out, the younger man went and opened the trailer door, Cavalry stepped out and examined his surroundings with curiosity.

"So, Cavalry, if you'd like to wait on the porch, I'll check through my closet and see about setting a bed up for you. I can't imagine laying on hard wood being too comfortable." Dave said. The horse nodded and he and Spencer followed him up to the front door. Rossi unlocked it and entered with Reid in tow.

Well aware of the kid's fear of the dark, Rossi hurried to turn on some lights, Spencer immediately calmed down. Ahead from the door was a staircase, to the left lead to a back room. To his right was a room containing a television set, a large couch sat across from it on the other side in front of a window, there was a coffee table with a rug underneath, also, there was a fancy looking fireplace. To the left was a kitchen, the cupboards had windows which gave one a view of what's inside, there was an entryway that lead to another part of the house, but Reid couldn't quite tell because the light was off over there.

"Make yourself at home, kid." Dave offered as he removed his jacket and hung it. He then went upstairs.

"Thanks." Spencer mumbled, he didn't want to impose though, Rossi hadn't exactly invited him over. He decided to go sit on the couch, he placed his bag by his feet and sat down, feeling a little intrusive for being in the home of someone he knows and works with. Rossi returned with two thick comforters and a few pillows, he nearly dropped his load several times already and he could barely see where he was going. The younger man wondered how he made it back down the stairs without hurting himself.

"Do you need some help with that?" Reid asked, rising from the sofa.

"That would be much obliged." Dave grumbled just as a pillow fell from the top of the stack of bedding. Spencer quickly lifted one of the comforters and picked up the pillow that had fallen. He opened the door and they stepped outside into the porch where Cavalry was still waiting.

"Okay," Rossi sighed, dropping his load. "Let's set this up." The animal watched as the two humans put the pillows down next to each other, then laid the two thick blankets on top. When they finished, Dave wiped a single drop of sweat from his face.

"I forgot to mention, I thought horses could sleep standing up?"

The sparkle in Reid's eye told the Senior SSA he made a mistake asking.

"Horses can sleep both standing up and lying down. To sleep upright is an adaption from living in the wild where the threat of predators is present, they do so by using their ability to lock the joints in their legs without collapsing or falling over. Horses must sleep lying down to meet their minimum rapid eye movement sleep, usually for only one to two hours. Unlike humans, horses do not sleep in a solid, unbroken period of time, but take many short periods of rest. Horses spend four to fifteen hours a day in standing rest, and from a few minutes to several hours lying down. Total sleep time in a 24-hour period may range from several minutes to a couple of hours, mostly in short intervals of about 15 minutes each. The average sleep time of a domestic horse is said to be 2.9 hours per day. "

"You finally stopped to take a breath I see." Rossi observed, smirking. Spencer blushed and gazed at the ground.

"Sorry, it's just that you asked."

"It's fine, Reid, it's not like that was the first time you've done that." This made the boy blush even more. Dave decided to change the subject as to not further embarrass his colleague. "How's the bed, Cavalry?"

The ridiculously intelligent animal had settled down on his makeshift bed, it was indeed cozy, it reminded him of his original owners long before they retired. He nodded silently.

"It's late, I think we should all get some sleep." Dave said. At this, Spencer yawned, confirming his statement.

"Sleep well, Cavalry."

"Goodnight, Cavalry." Reid said before he and Rossi went inside and closed the door.

"I must admit, it feels rather silly talking to a horse." The older man shook his head.

"But he understands everything we're saying." The young genius explained. "Most animals typically require training."

"And how do we know that Cavalry wasn't trained, if not excessively?"

"I don't know actually. It had to have been some damn good training if that's the case."

"Good point." Rossi cocked an eyebrow. "So, I have two guest bedrooms and the sofa, you may take any of those, except my own bedroom."

"I think I'll actually take the couch, I want to be close to Cavalry in case he needs anything." Spencer said, staring at the cushy leather sofa.

"What would the horse need in the middle of the night?" He asked.

"He might get thirsty, or something." Reid said. "Now that I think about it, I don't think Cavalry has drank anything since me and Emily first found him." His eyes widened with horror.

"That can't be good."

"Do you have like a bucket or something that can hold some water?"

"In the closet, I usually use it for mopping, but it should be clean and soap free."

"Thanks." Reid rushed to where a door was, which lead to a moderate sized space, he quickly grabbed a white bucket after taking the mop out and went over to the kitchen sink and used the small hose to fill it.

Twenty minutes later, he and Rossi carried the bucket outside to the porch, Cavalry had dozed off but was startled awake by the profilers. They sat the bucket of water close by him.

"Cavalry, you should drink some water, you haven't in a long time."

The horse was confused for a moment, but he then realized his own thirst, he was very thirsty, yet even he hadn't been aware of it during the time. He got up on his feet and guzzled down some water, the bucket was only one-third full by the time his thirst was quenched fully.

"I'm sorry, Cavalry." Spencer apologized. "I should've known."

The beast shook his head and nickered softly, as if to say 'it's not your fault'. Reid should know, he's been told that plenty of times before.

Later that night, they were all finally settled down for some much needed sleep. Rossi gave Reid some blankets and a pillow before he retreated to his bedroom. Spencer lay awake on the couch for a while, thinking about how different things would be if Rossi succeeds on getting Cavalry permitted to come along with them on cases, though he was aware of the older agent telling him that no promises were being made, he was going to at least try. Finally, he drifted off.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

It took a few days before Dave was able to arrange a meeting with his 'higher up' friends. He hoped he wouldn't appear too crazy or anything when he told them what he was proposing them to help him with. Also during the course of those days, Garcia had taken the time to find an ideal place for Reid to live, where he could keep Cavalry with him. As expected, such a task wasn't easy when searching through the DC-Quantico area, but she knew something should come up eventually. She managed to find a two story home, the house was in good shape, it contained a big yard, and it was for a surprisingly decent price. Additionally, it wasn't far from Quantico. She immediately bookmarked it and was eager to show her Junior G-man.

Although he was thankful for Penelope's efforts, he was also nervous, he'd lived in his apartment for quite a few years now, and the last time he lived in an actual house was before he sent his mother away. The team promised Spencer they would help him move after he accepted the place Garcia found for him.

Meanwhile, Rossi had finished convincing his friends, since they've known him long enough and all, they were only slightly suspicious of a possible practical joke. Dave went and brought Cavalry to the FBI grounds so that his friends could see what the animal was capable of. After a few examples, they were all awe struck to say the very least, never before in their lives did they imagine something like this. Rossi also explained how they found him, and how the horse helped them solve a case and put not one, but four criminals in jail, with the exception of a fifth one that had died as a result of Cavalry saving the life of one of Hotchner's agents. The animal still had it's large bandaged wound to prove it.

In addition, one of Rossi's friends then recalled seeing the story on the news. By now, they were all more than willing to help out in anyway they could, Dave told them he couldn't thank them enough for their help, knowing that going above Strauss would piss her off dearly.

In the end, however, it was the Director of the FBI that called the shots.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"Wow, thank you guys, so much." Spencer said for the umpteenth time as he studied his new home, well most of it. They only managed to get a little less than half of his stuff moved, there was still a lot of work left.

"Don't mention it, sweet cheeks." Garcia smiled, causing the young man to blush.

"You picked out a nice place, Baby Girl." Morgan complimented.

"We still got quite a bit of stuff left." JJ pointed out.

"No offense, Reid, but I never would have imagined you having this much stuff." Hotch said as he sat down another box loaded with books.

"Those are all books!" Prentiss exclaimed.

"Pretty Boy, did you live in an apartment or a library?" Derek joked, smirking. Reid tried to glare at him, sort of.

As the others joined in on teasing Spencer, Hotch walked over to a more secluded corner of the house, he flipped open his phone and looked through some of the pictures of Jack that Haley had sent him via text message. He smiled sadly, he missed his family and wished he could be there more for his growing son, at least his wife was sending him snapshots.

"You okay, Hotch?" Emily asked, startling him, but he hid it well.

"Yeah, I'm just... Haley sent me some pictures of Jack." She noticed the slight crack in his voice and chose to say no more. His phone then rang, he answered the incoming call after seeing who it was.

After he finished, he pocketed his cell phone and turned to his team. "Rossi needs us to come to the BAU."

The drive there wasn't very long, since Reid's new place was remarkably close. They were curious as to why they all needed to be there. They pulled up to the parking lot and saw one of the SUVs with a horse trailer, a familiar animal stood outside beside it. Spencer was about to ask Cavalry what was going on, when he realized the beast couldn't exactly explain, due to his inability to speak. The team went inside the building to the sixth floor where the BAU resided, they saw Dave with a group of people, they were clearly dressed up for business, and they already assumed who they were.

"Hi, you must Agent Hotchner." A man greeted, shaking his hand.

"I am." Hotch said. "And these are agents Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss-"

"Jennifer Jareau, Dr. Spencer Reid, and your technical analyst, Penelope Garcia." He finished. "Rossi already told us."

The BAU leader nodded. "So, what is this about?" He asked, deciding not to continue introductions.

The man's expression changed. "Concerning your, um, 'friend' outside."

"Cavalry?" Reid spoke.

"Yes, Cavalry. We spoke with the Director, and..." He trailed off.

"What did he say?" Garcia asked, her eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and worry.

Dave stepped forward, seeing that his friend was too uncomfortable to break the news.

"Cavalry cannot be a part of the team." He said, his voice somber.

Everyone became so silent, that only their breathing could be heard.

**To be continued...**

**Okay, this is the first time in my life I have asked this, but... please review? :P**


	14. Fooled You Once

**Thank you so much for reviewing, this story is nearing completion, and it would never have been possible without you. :)**

**So, the BAU can't have Cavalry with them it seems... or can they?**

Reid looked around desperately wishing for anyone to break the stunned silence. Garcia felt a similar way as she glanced back and forth at her teammates as well as Rossi's friends. They should've figured, even if it may have been a long shot, they hadn't fully been expecting Cavalry to become part of the team, and now they were glad that their hopes hadn't been held too high. Spencer knew that Dave warned him that he wasn't guaranteeing the results he wanted, but it was still upsetting. The young doctor was still having difficulty believing what he'd just heard, the words repeated in his eidetic memory.

"Rossi," He finally spoke, no longer able to take the quiet. "Are you sure?" He asked hopefully, his eyes were doing their trademark puppy dog look.

"Reid," Hotch began. "Dave just said that-"

"Yes, that was said." The Senior SSA cut in. "You have to agree though, whoever heard of something as ridiculous as a horse becoming a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI?" All of Rossi's friends looked at each other, they were appearing uneasy, like something was off. The other profilers weren't quite able to figure out what though.

"I suppose so." Spencer said quietly, gazing at the floor, long brown curls falling down in front of his face. Penelope brushed past Morgan to give her young friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I just thought that maybe-"

"However," Rossi spoke up, his voice was now unusually chipper compared to just a moment ago. Everyone snapped into attention as they stared at him. "We were suggested an alternative by none other than the Director himself. Long story short, we can still bring Cavalry with us." Silence filled the bullpen again.

"Rossi..." Reid broke the silence once more, he looked at the veteran profiler straight in the eye. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Garcia beat him to it.

"Don't do that!" She snapped indignantly. "You nearly gave my Junior G-man a heart attack! Not to mention myself too!" JJ and Emily couldn't help but chuckle at their upset tech goddess.

Hotch sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dave, was that really necessary?"

"My deepest apologies," The older man held up his hands in mock surrender. "I couldn't resist putting you all on edge, as cruel as it may sound." He smirked.

"Yeah, it was all his idea." Rossi's one friend said, pointing at him. "I wanted to say something! I swear!"

"So, what was this 'alternative' the Director suggested?" Derek asked curiously.

"We register and certify Cavalry as a service animal." Rossi explained simply.

"Of course." Reid thought aloud as realization struck.

"For starters, the horse would have the ability to go into buildings, when possible."

"I thought that was just for ponies and miniature horses." JJ said.

"Cavalry's a smart animal." Dave pointed out. "I have no doubt that they would make a special exception for him. In addition, with him being a service horse, the Director promised that he would make Cavalry's enrollment with the FBI as official as possible."

"Wait," Garcia spoke. "He's becoming an official part of the FBI?" She asked excitedly.

"He will be." Rossi replied. "Granted, not part of the BAU specifically, but you got to hand it to the Director for just making the FBI possible."

"Well, this is certainly exciting." Prentiss smiled when she noticed Reid gaping into nothingness.

"Okay, so what are we doing standing around here for, huh?" Morgan asked. "Let's go tell Cavalry." A chorus of agreement rang out from most of the team, minus Rossi and Hotch. They were about to head out when they saw Spencer still standing there staring off into space.

"Spence, you coming?" JJ called out to her seemingly lost friend.

"Huh? What?" Reid snapped out of his daze and looked around briefly. "Where are you guys going?"

"We're gonna tell Cavalry the good news, you coming or what?" Emily asked, grinning. Spencer blushed then nodded before following his colleagues to the elevator. Surprisingly all of Rossi's friends decided to go with the agents. They departed through the glass doors, leaving Dave and Hotch by themselves.

"Strauss isn't going to like this." The Unit Chief shook his head.

"Don't worry about her, Aaron, I'll talk to her when the time comes." Rossi reassured.

"Are you sure, Dave?" Hotch asked skeptically.

"Positive." He smiled. "I've been here for a long time, I know how Strauss is."

"By the way, I've got to ask, how did you and your, um, friends convince the Director to allow this?"

"He's known about Cavalry and had an interest in him for a long time, he's read every newspaper article that exists on the horse. He's practically a fan."

"I see." Hotch nodded. "And what would the outcome have been had he not been a 'fan'?"

"I think the important thing to think about right now is the fact that he is one." Rossi smiled.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

Cavalry stood at the outdoor parking area, he wasn't sure what was going on inside the building, not that he was able to go and find out. He knew he needed to have patience, but he was slowly starting to get bored, so he decided to go for a little stroll around the parking lot. He only managed to do one lap before he saw people approaching, he instantly recognized all of them. There was Spencer, Emily, JJ, Derek, and Garcia. Hotch and Dave were absent, but Rossi's friends whom he'd met earlier were here as well.

"Hey, Cavalry." Reid began, but Penelope cut him off.

"Ooh! I want to tell him! Can I tell him, please?" She nearly jumped up and down like a hyper schoolgirl. Cavalry could almost tell what was going on and he hadn't even been told yet. Morgan chuckled at Garcia's eccentric behavior, Reid merely shrugged and silently gestured for her to go ahead.

"Okay, okay," The technical analyst started, waving her hands wildly. "You, my dear horsey, are a soon to be official FBI agent... equine... animal thingy." The brown haired beast cocked his head, barely catching what she just said. Official FBI?

"What Garcia's trying to tell you, or more like failing," Prentiss smirked at Penelope's glare. "Is that you're going to be in the FBI, officially that is."

Cavalry's ears perked forward. Officially in the FBI? It sounded impossible since he was a horse of all things, sure one could say he was smarter than the average human, but this was something big, something that only happened in his dreams, but he also needed to think about how he got here in the first place.

He was born in a laboratory, his owners trained him with the best of their ability, other times they simply let his IQ go up on it's own. As he grew up, his intelligence increased, he was arguably the smartest horse in the world. After his owners retired, he went from home to home, only to wind up with Walter Walker. Whether it was fate or sheer luck, his paths crossed with FBI agents whom he is happy to call his friends. Thanks to them along with his own abilities, he no longer lives a life of watching people suffer in the hands of a sicko, never getting to use his full potential, only being able to dream of a life he'd rather live.

If only his owners could see him now, they would be so proud.

But he's got a new owner now, Dr. Spencer Reid, a young man with an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, which provided the ability to read 20,000 words per minute. Cavalry may only have an IQ of 161, but that's still considered high even by human standards, and it certainly made him feel like one at times, despite not having the ability to speak.

In their moment of happiness, he and the present BAU members found themselves in a group hug.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"Agent Rossi, I would like a word with you in my office." Strauss ordered.

"Good luck, Dave." Hotch said quietly before retreating to his office and away from the approaching woman who was fuming.

"Can do, ma'am." Rossi calmly complied. They'd been expecting this to come, and it finally has, but luckily, Dave was mentally prepared for whatever the Section Chief would throw his way. He followed her to her office and closed the door behind him. Erin went and sat down at her desk, she was clearly pissed, he was only hoping that what he did doesn't get him or anybody else suspended or worse yet, fired. She was silent for a moment, her expression practically said everything. Due to Rossi's profiling skills, he knew she was doing this to try and build up the pressure, like a method that would be used for interrogating suspects, it wasn't working however because he saw through it, but Strauss didn't seem to notice, or care.

"David Rossi, from the time I've worked with your team, you know damn well how my view is on all of you. I feel that you are reckless, endangering risk takers, and perhaps even a threat to the Bureau itself." Rossi waited for the right time to speak, which wasn't now, Strauss continued. "A horse, David, a _horse. _You do not know how utterly ridiculous your team appears right now. You go behind my back to the Director, and against all odds, you actually convinced him to allow an animal to join the FBI? And I do plan to have a discussion with agents Reid and Prentiss for their actions on your most recent case."

"Erin," Dave finally spoke, sighing. "Just so you know, it was my idea to try get Cavalry eligible to be with us, if you must deal out some form of punishment on anyone, do so on me."

"Agent Rossi, I've known you for a long time, you're an experienced profiler and well respected around the Bureau. Never in my years would I have thought that you, much less Agent Hotchner would allow your team to do something as unbelievable as bringing a horse to Quantico, and actually thinking that it could be a part of the BAU."

"You don't know Cavalry." Rossi said. "He's undoubtedly the smartest horse who ever lived, he's practically human, even the Director thought so."

"And that automatically makes 'Cavalry' an FBI agent?" Erin raised her voice slightly. "Does the animal speak? Can it use a gun? Can it write down a geographical profile for Christ sake?"

"I haven't seen him do any of those things _yet, _but I wouldn't put it past him." Dave smiled confidently, he knew this annoyed the Section Chief to the point where she's ripping hair out from her head, but since the Director is allowing it, Strauss has no choice but to do so as well.

"Tell your team that I am watching you all like a hawk from now on," Erin snarled. "If I see so much as one little mistake, there will be consequences for each of you, including that horse of yours."

Rossi almost shrugged carelessly, but he managed not to. "If that's all you needed ma'am, I must be going. I have some arrangements to make." He turned around and exited her office, closing the door again behind him as he left. Strauss sat there for a moment before she got up and closed the blinds on her indoor window, then locked her door. She returned to her desk and pulled out a bottle and a glass. She opened the cap and poured herself some of the alcoholic beverage.

She _really_ needed a drink right now.

**To be continued...**

**I was busy in the kitchen, so I missed the designated deadline for this chapter. Sorry about that. :P**


	15. A Whole New Beginning

**Quicker update than usual, huh? And here's why; This is the last chapter, the grand finale, sort of, and I couldn't stand making you wait for it...**

"I can always tell which is the front end of a horse, but beyond that, my art is not above the ordinary." - Mark Twain.

A week passed since Rossi and his friends had their discussion with the Director of the FBI, Over the course of those seven days, things were seemingly different for obvious reasons, aside from Strauss expressing how upset she was, but that didn't matter right now.

Reid was fully moved into his new home, construction for a simple fence on the edges of his property were nearly finished. The house's exceptionally large front porch would provide plenty of shelter for Cavalry so a barn was not needed, plus, it allowed the animal to be close the house and Spencer.

Cavalry became both a registered and certified service horse, ownership was under Dr. Reid's name, naturally. Thanks to the Director, Cavalry was now officially in the FBI, despite how crazy many saw it. He now has permission to accompany the BAU on cases whenever seen fit.

In order to show his symbol of authority, the brown haired horse was outfitted for something rather unique. One, a saddle pad, made entirely out of the material for kelvar vests, but unlike normal saddle pads, it wrapped around the beast's entire midsection from the top of his back to underneath his belly, on each side read white letters "FBI", a western saddle sat atop the horse's back, Cavalry donned a bridle and reins, beneath that was a head mask, also made out of kelvar material, on the front read "FBI". He had also been microchipped, that way Garcia could track his location should she ever need to.

Penelope took a picture of him, adding it to the collection of photos she had of the team. She showed it to Cavalry, the horse admired how he looked. To be honest, he really wished Walter was here now so he could show off to the man and say "How do you like me now?" But the horse knew that was impossible for two reasons; A, Walter was in prison on the other side of the country, and B, Cavalry can't talk. No need to think about him anymore though, he's nothing but a thing of the past.

The team got an altered jet, it was a little wider and somewhat taller than their old one, and near the back was a small area just big enough for Cavalry to be in, the rest of the jet's seats and the couch were a similar set up from the last one. From now on, a ramp will await them for each arrival instead of a flight of stairs, one of the SUVs will sport a horse trailer for transportation on the road.

Rossi knew that Strauss had told him that she would be watching the team closely, but he wouldn't put it past her to go as far as to make up a false accusation, which he ensured the team would be prepared for should that ever happen. She hated Hotchner's team already, adding Cavalry to it only increased the Section Chief's hatred tenfold. It's not like the horse was an official member of the BAU, just the FBI.

And to think, many couldn't believe it when Spencer first joined the FBI at the age of 23, and now a horse has joined, a brown Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse mix, with an IQ of 161 and the ability to understand human communication and respond. If only he had an eidetic memory, he would practically be an 'equine version of Reid', as Morgan once pointed out with a laugh, much to the young doctor's embarrassment.

Right now, Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Garcia sat in their offices, Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid were at their desks, Cavalry was outside, waiting on a patch of grass where he had a bucket of water to drink from, which was close to the SUVs, so he would be ready whenever they headed out somewhere. Erin Strauss was undoubtedly fuming in her own office, or perhaps plotting an attack against the team, whatever she was up to, it was no one's concern at the moment.

JJ came into the bullpen to announce that they had a case in Texas, in such an area and terrain that the Lone Star State provided, Cavalry will most likely be useful when the time comes. The team briefed in the conference room before getting their go bags ready, then they headed out of the building to the the vehicles where their newest 'unofficial' team member waited. Hotch took a deep breath, while he knew Cavalry was indeed a valuable member just as everyone else was, he did feel a little silly about having a horse with them now, but hopefully he'll be able to get over that. The animal climbed into the trailer and Reid shut the gate before he hopped into the Suburban that was hitched to it. They began their drive and they soon got to the airport and ascended the ramp that lead up to their new jet, they stepped inside and examined the changes.

"Not that I'm complaining about a bigger jet, but who authorized this?" Hotch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You may thank me later." Rossi said proudly as they each began to take a seat. Cavalry went and lied down in the small area designated for him, Reid took his reins and tied them to a metal bar that was on one corner before seating himself and buckling up for the take off. Once they were in the air, they began to look over their case files, Cavalry was given one of his own to study, should the time ever come where they are desperate for another opinion, the horse would be able to provide it, even though the animal didn't necessarily have any training in profiling.

Suddenly, Spencer spoke up. "Did you know that horses have a highly developed ability to sense and detect human emotion?"

"Really?" Emily asked. "So Cavalry is like a natural born profiler."

"And combined with his intelligence, he can use his skills well." Reid smiled. "He'd just have to write it down on paper since he can't speak."

Morgan chuckled. "I'll bet Cavalry could profile Hotch right now if he tried."

"Focus on the case, people." Aaron ordered calmly, yet sternly, not turning his attention away from his file. Suddenly, Garcia appeared on the screen.

"Hello my six- no wait, _seven _lovelies." The petite woman said cheerfully.

"What's up, Garcia?" Derek asked, smiling brightly at her.

"Well, I actually have something to tell my Junior G-man." She said, causing the young genius to look up at her. "Okay, Reid, you know how you asked me to look back on Cavalry to find more information on him? Well, I only managed to find just a little bit, according to this here, Cavalry's favorite foods are spaghetti and Butterfinger candy."

"Come again?" Morgan questioned.

"Yep." Penelope said. "Because of these crazy, yet interesting things called 'artificial intelligence' that was inserted into Cavalry before he was physically born, it not only made him super smart like Reid, but affected his body, such as his stomach for example, he's eaten human food for most of his life during his time at some laboratory on Las Vegas which I could not figure out the name of."

"I didn't know horses could eat that stuff to begin with." Dave said.

"Horses can actually consume a surprisingly wide variety of man made products, even pasteurized meat." Spencer stated.

"Wait, I thought chocolate was poisonous to horses?" Prentiss asked.

"Chocolate is technically poisonous to all animals, humans just require an excessively large amount in order for it to affect their health, unlike cats and dogs that only need to consume a very small amount for it to be lethal. Horses, depending on size can probably have about a moderate amount safely." Reid quipped.

"I guess that brings out the meaning of 'death by chocolate'." JJ smirked.

"Ha! Good call, JJ!" Emily laughed.

"Easy there," Garcia said in a tone. "If that's true when it comes to my Chocolate Thunder over there, then I'm a zombie." She purred seductively.

The plane fell silent for a moment before Morgan, Cavalry, and the girls all burst out laughing. Even Rossi emitted a chuckle, Reid looked confused, and Hotch shook his head.

Later after they finally arrived at the airport, they exited the jet, intending to reach their vehicles, only for a swarm of reporters to surround them. Of course, they were interested in Cavalry, but he knew as well as the rest of the team that they had a case to work on. Finally, the group had to actually push all the people with notepads and large, obnoxious cameras out of their way.

When they reached the police station, they were all thankful that it was reporter free. Spencer let Cavalry out of the trailer so that he could roam around while they worked inside.

"You must be Agent Hotchner." The sheriff shook hands with the BAU leader.

"I am, and these are Agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, our media liaison, Jennifer Jareau, and Dr. Reid." Aaron introduced. All but Reid shook hands with the sheriff, instead the young man simply waved. The sheriff glanced behind the profilers out the window, seeing a familiar brown animal outside by their SUVs.

"What's with the horse?" He asked casually.

"His name is Cavalry," Spencer explained. "He's part of our team, sort of."

"I see." He nodded. "To be honest, I was expecting a Great Dane that was afraid of ghosts and could talk."

"Huh?" Reid said, clearly confused.

"You never watched Scooby-Doo, Spence?" JJ asked.

"Who?"

"Never mind." The blonde sighed.

"I was just pulling your leg." The sheriff chuckled. "I heard about that horse of yours, and that it actually joined the FBI and such, heard that it's smarter than the average human even."

"He is indeed." Dave remarked.

The sheriff cleared his throat. "So, we've got a table and a map for you right over there, we prepared coffee and donuts for you as well..."

It took less than a week before they figured out who the unsub was, and Garcia was able to find his location almost instantly. They reached his house, making sure every exit was surrounded, but he jumped out of a two story window and began to run into a prairie. The profiler's and officers gave chase, one of them was ready to fire a shot at the fleeing unsub, but a large mass of brown whizzed past them, heading right for the man on the run. Cavalry caught up to him easily and knocked him to the ground, he pinned him there with a hoof on his back until Morgan arrived and handcuffed the man. The dark skinned agent and an officer lead him to a cruiser while Cavalry trotted back to the others who were holstering their weapons now that their man was in custody.

Hotch and the animal met eyes before the Unit Chief spoke. "Well done, Cavalry." He gave the horse a single pat on the neck before walking away. The beast was feeling very good about himself right now, that was only fueled when Reid ran over and wrapped his lanky arms around his neck and brought his face next to Cavalry's, Morgan and Prentiss began stroking both sides of his neck.

The song "I Feel Good" started playing in the intelligent horse's mind.

**(Spencer Reid!)**

"A Hibernian sage once wrote that there are three things a man never forgets: The girl of his early youth, a devoted teacher, and a great horse." -C.J.J. Mullen.

The team sat around the jet, feeling quite satisfied of a job well done, but they all knew very well that not every case will turn out like this one.

Which can be said about the next case they took sometime later, it was quite difficult, in fact it was very difficult, even with Reid's intellect and Cavalry's additional help, it was just plain confusing. What had started in Detroit only lead them across the border to Canada, it was one of the craziest cases they've ever tackled, but they eventually succeeded, at least it seemed that way. Hotch was deep in thought afterward, thinking about how 93 lives had been either lost or forever altered, and exactly how much better off was his team? This job is demanding in several ways, and how long could they go on until they can no longer look into the abyss and recover pieces of themselves? Especially Cavalry, who just recently became a member of the 'family' the BAU team made themselves, he may not be a human being, but all animals feel pain, and unlike most, Cavalry actually understood it like his human comrades did, how people may or may not intentionally cause suffering to others, whether it be for their own sick pleasure, or that they're convince that they are accomplishing something by ruining innocent lives, or even a reason as simple as because they can. But that's why they do this job, to make sure less lives are destroyed from the rampages that the criminals they hunt cause, and Cavalry chose to do so as well. He may be a horse with incredible abilities, and he could've done anything with his life, he could have been be a world famous animal celebrity, or even a circus performer, or perhaps a way to further help scientists understand the species of horses.

He could have done any of those and more, but he didn't. He didn't have to come along with them back to Quantico, he could have even acquired help from them to do whatever he may have wished, but he chose to help people, humans, animals who are of a completely different species of his own. Sure, most animals usually aren't allowed a decision, and if they ever were, they probably wouldn't choose such a job like helping save human lives, but this is what Cavalry chose to do. Regardless of intelligence, some might not view the beast as valuable or effective as people, but in the end, the horse was not only dedicating, but also risking his life to save others, just like everyone else on this team. Even Garcia, who is usually hidden safely away in her office at the BAU, she, as well as Cavalry are just as much of an enemy to the people they chase down as the rest of them. Anyone with the ability to harm innocent people could bring them down just as easily, despite how the team would like to think otherwise.

Gideon always said that their ability to profile was their best weapon which the unsubs generally lack, which proved to be true on many occasions, but really, it was the one holding the weapon to an innocent life that called the shots, and when it came to negotiating, they made sure the unsubs knew that. It was their choice, they could end one life, or save two.

"_Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day."_ Ironically, no truer words could be spoken at that point. Hotch sighed as he unlocked his apartment and entered, tossing his keys and plopping his suitcase down on the floor. So much has happened recently, he was glad to unwind finally. One case nearly cost the lives of two of his agents, but thanks to a certain intelligent horse, that was now part of the BAU family, they were alive and well, as was the eighth victim, and justice had been served to the seven others that were not so fortunate, a man and three of his sons were locked away where they can no longer harm another life, but that doesn't mean that there aren't others still roaming free doing what they do. That case in Canada was very grueling, it drained everyone's energy, Aaron had no doubt that the others were taking the opportunity to relax.

Hotch couldn't stop thinking about how a horse actually became one of them, on the outside, he was a large, brown haired hoofed mammal, but inside, he was no different from the rest of the team, just another soul who saves lives for a living. At the same time, he was thinking about his biological family, as badly as he wanted to see them, it wouldn't be fair to put them in such danger, they were safely in hiding from a man who was an immediate threat to them, and Hotch would be damned if a harmful finger would ever be laid on his son.

A drink was sounding far too tempting right now. The Unit Chief went over to a table near the kitchen where he poured himself a small amount of an alcoholic beverage into a glass. Just as he takes a sip, he senses another presence, after hearing the cocking of a gun, he calmly places his drink down and sure enough, he turns around to see a dark hooded figure wearing a mask, holding a gun aimed right at Aaron.

Hotch knew this man's profile, he won't kill him as long as he doesn't express fear, which is what he usually wanted from his victims before killing them one way or another. This explains why he hadn't shot Morgan when he had the chance, Derek had been knocked unconscious, though Hotch wouldn't have expected him to show an ounce of fear to the man if he'd been awake. Instead though, he stole his credentials and left two bullets on his chest, which was his way of showing that he could have ended his life right then and there. They caught him once, but he faked being ill and managed to escape. This forced Hotch to put his family in hiding to ensure the safety of their lives, he knew this man wouldn't hesitate to bring pain and suffering to him even if it meant not harming him at all physically, but to attack his family instead, second to that would be his team.

With his trademark stern glare, Hotch stood his ground, the figure kept a steady hand on the gun and trigger

"_Like I said, sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to sum up what's happened that day."_

"You should've made a deal." Foyet shook his head once as he spoke, his voice came out in a sinister tone filled with pure hatred.

"_Sometimes the day... just..."_

A gunshot rang throughout the apartment.

"_...ends."_

**The End.**

**I cannot believe I actually finished this, thanks to all of your support, it happened. I was uncertain when I first started this, but it's finally completed, this is also my first multi chapter story that I have ever finished, not counting "Garcia's Cookies" which was originally going to be just a oneshot. Anyhoo, should Cavalry's legacy live on? If I do another multi chapter story that would likely be a sequel of some sorts, it would probably take quite some time since I wish to work on some other stories. Or, I could create a whole mini series based off this fic, featuring Cavalry and the team, which will also be separate from any other fics of mine. Additionally, a mini series would come a lot quicker than a whole entire sequel fic.**

**What do you say? Feedback on this as well as the final chapter here will be highly appreciated!**

**Also, I must get a couple things off my chest, I'm not usually into OC stories, much less stories that add OCs to the show's original plot, and yet I wrote one myself. Should I feel bad about that? :P**

**Keep in mind that there is a lot that Cavalry doesn't know about the team yet, and there are several characters who he hasn't met either, including Reid's mother, Hotch and JJ's families, and last but certainly not least, The Reaper!**


End file.
